(1863) Copper Civil War Store Card F-915A-2a, Hoover & Camp OH

Coin Details

Description

Civil War merchant token bearing the name of Hoover & Camp, located in Wellsville, 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. The copper composition of this variety (Fuld 915A-2a) is common for this merchant. Professional die sinkers like John Stanton, Benjamin True, and William Bridgens supplied dies to merchants across the Northern states. 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 Civil War token series provides one of the most comprehensive records of mid-nineteenth century American retail commerce, documenting businesses that left few other historical traces. The cent-sized format was chosen deliberately to match the federal Indian Head cent, the coin most conspicuously absent from daily commerce.

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, Hoover & Camp was a limited producer of Civil War tokens.

Cross References

Fuld 915A-2a