(1863) Copper Civil War Store Card F-165DC-2a, H. Lazaress OH

Coin Details

Description

This Civil War token was issued by H. Lazaress, operating in Cincinnati, Ohio. Cincinnati was the largest inland city in antebellum America and a critical supply center for the Union Army, driving Ohio to produce more varieties of Civil War store cards than any other state. With 2 known varieties, H. Lazaress produced a modest number of token types. The copper composition of this variety (Fuld 165DC-2a) 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 2 cataloged varieties, H. Lazaress was a limited producer of Civil War tokens.

Cross References

Fuld 165DC-2a