(1863) Brass Civil War Store Card F-165CQ-4b, Jacob Knauber OH

Coin Details

Auction Record

$192 MS64 01-12-2022 Stack's Bowers

Description

Fuld 165CQ-4b — store card of Jacob Knauber, 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. Jacob Knauber issued 9 die varieties, more than most Civil War merchants. The brass composition of this variety (Fuld 165CQ-4b) is common to somewhat scarce for this merchant. Many Civil War tokens share common reverse dies, as die sinkers paired merchant-specific obverses with stock patriotic or advertising reverses. Store cards circulated as emergency currency after wartime hoarding removed federal coins from commercial channels. Brass was the second most common planchet material after copper, giving tokens a golden appearance. Token production peaked in 1863 when the coin shortage was most acute, with die sinkers working around the clock to fill merchant orders.

Rarity Notes

Brass strikings are among the more available metal variants, though typically less common than copper. With 9 cataloged varieties, Jacob Knauber was a minor token issuer.

Cross References

Fuld 165CQ-4b