(1861-65) Copper Civil War Store Card F-165N-7a, Dr. Bennett's OH

Coin Details

Auction Record

$110 MS63BN 12-16-2020 Stack's Bowers

Description

Civil War store card issued by Dr. Bennett's of Cincinnati, Ohio. 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. Dr. Bennett's produced 36 cataloged die varieties, reflecting a substantial token operation. The copper composition of this variety (Fuld 165N-7a) is common for this merchant. Token manufacturers struck pieces by the thousands, using hand-fed screw presses capable of producing several hundred tokens per hour. Civil War tokens addressed a practical problem: the wartime disappearance of federal small change made daily transactions nearly impossible without private substitutes. The Fuld catalog documents thousands of distinct die combinations for Civil War store cards, making this one of the most complex series in American numismatics.

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 36 cataloged varieties, Dr. Bennett's was a moderately active token issuer.

Cross References

Fuld 165N-7a