(1862) Brass Civil War Store Card F-175S-1b, Geo. Worthington & Co. OH

Coin Details

Description

This Civil War token was issued by Geo. Worthington & Co., operating in Cleveland, Ohio. Cleveland's position on Lake Erie made it a vital shipping hub for wartime goods, and its merchants participated actively in the Civil War token phenomenon. The 17 cataloged varieties for Geo. Worthington & Co. indicate a notable level of token production. This brass striking (Fuld 175S-1b) is common to somewhat scarce among the known varieties. Many Civil War tokens share common reverse dies, as die sinkers paired merchant-specific obverses with stock patriotic or advertising reverses. Civil War tokens addressed a practical problem: the wartime disappearance of federal small change made daily transactions nearly impossible without private substitutes. Brass was the second most common planchet material after copper, giving tokens a golden appearance. 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

Brass strikings are among the more available metal variants, though typically less common than copper. With 17 cataloged varieties, Geo. Worthington & Co. was a notable token issuer.

Cross References

Fuld 175S-1b