(1861-65) Copper Civil War Store Card F-165BAa-1a, Galway, Smith & Co. OH

Coin Details

Auction Record

$105 MS62BN 04-15-2021 Stack's Bowers

Description

Merchant token from Galway, Smith & Co. of Ohio, cataloged as Fuld 165BAa-1a. Ohio's extensive commercial networks across dozens of cities generated an unparalleled body of merchant token issues during the 1862-1864 coin shortage. Struck in copper, this die combination (Fuld 165BAa-1a) is common. Many Civil War tokens share common reverse dies, as die sinkers paired merchant-specific obverses with stock patriotic or advertising reverses. Congress banned private token issuance in April 1864, but before that, tokens like this one circulated freely as cent substitutes in Northern commerce. Some token dies were used so extensively that late strikes show significant die wear, providing collectors with a chronological sequence of the production run from fresh to deteriorated states. Surviving specimens are tangible artifacts of the wartime monetary crisis that affected every commercial transaction in the Northern states.

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 1 cataloged varieties, Galway, Smith & Co. was a limited producer of Civil War tokens.

Cross References

Fuld 165BAa-1a