(1863) Copper Civil War Store Card F-175E-1a, Deckand & Engelhart OH

Coin Details

Description

Civil War store card issued by Deckand & Engelhart of Cleveland, Ohio. Cleveland was a major Lake Erie port and growing industrial center connected to Eastern markets by railroad and the Ohio & Erie Canal. Struck in copper, this die combination (Fuld 175E-1a) is common. Each unique combination of obverse and reverse dies constitutes a separate Fuld catalog number, even when struck in the same metal. Between 1862 and 1864, Northern merchants produced millions of private tokens to compensate for the disappearance of federal coinage. Civil War tokens circulated alongside postage currency, fractional currency notes, and encased postage stamps as substitutes for the federal coins that had disappeared from commercial channels. George and Melvin Fuld's catalog remains the standard reference for Civil War tokens, with each variety assigned a unique identification number.

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 1 cataloged varieties, Deckand & Engelhart was a limited producer of Civil War tokens.

Cross References

Fuld 175E-1a