(No Date) Civil War Store Card F-13F-5a, PA

Coin Details

Description

Merchant token from John Sherer of Allegheny, Pennsylvania, cataloged as Fuld 13F-5a. 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. This copper striking (Fuld 13F-5a) is common among the known varieties. No date appears on this token, consistent with the rapid production practices of the 1862-1864 Civil War token boom. The dies for merchant tokens were usually cut by professional engravers who could produce a complete set in a matter of days. Civil War tokens addressed a practical problem: the wartime disappearance of federal small change made daily transactions nearly impossible without private substitutes. 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 12 cataloged varieties, John Sherer was a notable token issuer.

Cross References

Fuld 13F-5a