(1863) Copper Civil War Store Card F-160B-5a, Jno. F. Bier & Bro OH

Coin Details

Description

Fuld 160B-5a — store card of Jno. F. Bier & Bro, Chillicoth, Ohio. The breadth of Ohio's Civil War token production reflects the state's diverse economy, from Cincinnati's river trade to Cleveland's Lake Erie shipping to interior manufacturing towns. With 3 known varieties, Jno. F. Bier & Bro produced a modest number of token types. This copper striking (Fuld 160B-5a) is common among the known varieties. Token manufacturers struck pieces by the thousands, using hand-fed screw presses capable of producing several hundred tokens per hour. The token era ended when Congress authorized new federal small-denomination currency and criminalized private token production in 1864. 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 3 cataloged varieties, Jno. F. Bier & Bro was a limited producer of Civil War tokens.

Cross References

Fuld 160B-5a