(No Date) Civil War Store Card F-13F-3a, PA

Coin Details

Description

John Sherer, based in Allegheny, Pennsylvania, produced this token as a cent substitute during the wartime coin shortage. Pennsylvania was the Union's industrial heartland, with Philadelphia as a manufacturing center and Pittsburgh as an iron and steel producer. The 12 cataloged varieties for John Sherer indicate a notable level of token production. Struck in copper, this die combination (Fuld 13F-3a) is common. 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. Between 1862 and 1864, Northern merchants produced millions of private tokens to compensate for the disappearance of federal coinage. 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 12 cataloged varieties, John Sherer was a notable token issuer.

Cross References

Fuld 13F-3a