(1861-65) Civil War Store Card F-165DY-10a, Jas. Murdock Jr. OH

Coin Details

Description

Merchant token from Jas. Murdock, Jr. of Cincinnati, Ohio, cataloged as Fuld 165DY-10a. Cincinnati's position as a Union Army supply center and Ohio River trade hub made it a prolific source of Civil War tokens. John Stanton and other die sinkers based in the city produced dies for merchants across the Midwest. Jas. Murdock, Jr. produced 20 cataloged die varieties, reflecting a substantial token operation. The copper composition of this variety (Fuld 165DY-10a) is common for this merchant. The token trade was competitive, with die sinkers in New York, Cincinnati, and other cities vying for merchant orders across the region. Between 1862 and 1864, Northern merchants produced millions of private tokens to compensate for the disappearance of federal coinage. The cent-sized format was chosen deliberately to match the federal Indian Head cent, the coin most conspicuously absent from daily commerce.

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. With 20 cataloged varieties, Jas. Murdock, Jr. was a moderately active token issuer.

Cross References

Fuld 165DY-10a