(1863) Civil War Store Card F-165-FX-10a, F-OH-165-FX-10a Cincinnati; Lanphear/1069 OH

Coin Details

Description

Store card of F-OH-165-FX-10a Cincinnati; Lanphear/1069 in Ohio, struck during the 1862-1864 token era. Ohio's extensive commercial networks across dozens of cities generated an unparalleled body of merchant token issues during the 1862-1864 coin shortage. 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. Merchants who issued tokens during the Civil War provided a critical public service by maintaining the ability to make change for routine purchases at a time when federal coinage had nearly vanished from everyday commerce. Many Civil War tokens survive in high grades because merchants and the public saved them as novelties, resulting in a better average preservation than contemporary federal coins.

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 21 cataloged varieties, F-OH-165-AO-6a Cincinnati; Ferguson/1068 was a moderately active token issuer.

Cross References

Fuld 165-FX