(No Date) Brass Civil War Store Card F-990A-1b, W. & A.J. Packard OH

Coin Details

Description

Store card of W. & A.J. Packard in Ohio, struck during the 1862-1864 token era. Ohio produced more varieties of Civil War store cards than any other state, driven by Cincinnati's role as the largest inland city and a Union Army supply hub. With 4 known varieties, W. & A.J. Packard produced a modest number of token types. The brass composition of this variety (Fuld 990A-1b) is common to somewhat scarce for this merchant. Civil War tokens rarely bear dates. This piece was struck during the 1862-1864 coin shortage, when merchants needed emergency small change. Token manufacturers struck pieces by the thousands, using hand-fed screw presses capable of producing several hundred tokens per hour. The token era ended when Congress authorized new federal small-denomination currency and criminalized private token production in 1864. The brass composition gives this token a warm golden tone that contrasts with the reddish-brown of copper strikings.

Rarity Notes

Brass strikings are among the more available metal variants, though typically less common than copper. With 4 cataloged varieties, W. & A.J. Packard was a limited producer of Civil War tokens.

Cross References

Fuld 990A-1b