(1863) Copper Civil War Store Card F-930B-1a, W.H. McGrew OH

Coin Details

Auction Record

$336 MS65BN 03-29-2023 Stack's Bowers

Description

Merchant token from W.H. McGrew of West Unity, Ohio, cataloged as Fuld 930B-1a. 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 2 known varieties, W.H. McGrew produced a modest number of token types. The copper composition of this variety (Fuld 930B-1a) is common for this merchant. Die sinkers produced these tokens on hand-operated screw presses, often filling orders for multiple merchants simultaneously. 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 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 2 cataloged varieties, W.H. McGrew was a limited producer of Civil War tokens.

Cross References

Fuld 930B-1a