(1861-65) Civil War Store Card F-165BJ-10aCopper, Carl Haas OH

Coin Details

Auction Record

$288 MS64BN 05-29-2019 Stack's Bowers

Description

Carl Haas, based in Cincinnati, Ohio, produced this token as a cent substitute during the wartime coin shortage. Cincinnati was the largest inland city in antebellum America and a critical supply center for the Union Army, driving Ohio to produce more varieties of Civil War store cards than any other state. Carl Haas produced 33 cataloged die varieties, reflecting a substantial token operation. This piece is an overstrike struck over a host coin, an 1863 Indian Head cent. Traces of the original design may be visible beneath the new impressions. The dies for merchant tokens were usually cut by professional engravers who could produce a complete set in a matter of days. Civil War tokens addressed a practical problem: the wartime disappearance of federal small change made daily transactions nearly impossible without private substitutes.

Rarity Notes

Copper strikings are generally the most common metal variant for Civil War store cards, as copper was the standard planchet material mimicking the federal cent. Overstrike varieties are generally scarcer than tokens struck on blank planchets, as they required sourcing and re-striking existing coins. With 33 cataloged varieties, Carl Haas was a moderately active token issuer.

Cross References

Fuld 165BJ-10aCopper