(1863) Copper Civil War Store Card F-200G-1a, H. Schreiner OH

Coin Details

Description

H. Schreiner, based in Columbus, Ohio, produced this token as a cent substitute during the wartime coin shortage. Columbus, the state capital, was a major military staging area with Camp Chase housing Confederate prisoners and thousands of Union troops training within the city. This copper striking (Fuld 200G-1a) is common among the known varieties. Token production was a specialized trade — die sinkers maintained catalogs of stock dies that merchants could pair with custom obverses. Federal coinage vanished from circulation after 1861 as citizens hoarded silver and copper for their metal value, leaving merchants to fill the void with tokens. 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 1 cataloged varieties, H. Schreiner was a limited producer of Civil War tokens.

Cross References

Fuld 200G-1a