(No Date) Civil War Store Card F-13F-6a, PA

Coin Details

Description

Fuld 13F-6a — store card of John Sherer, Allegheny, Pennsylvania. 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-6a) is common. Undated Civil War tokens like this one circulated alongside dated issues during the 1862-1864 period. The token trade was competitive, with die sinkers in New York, Cincinnati, and other cities vying for merchant orders across the region. The Civil War small change crisis generated the largest private coinage movement in American history, with merchants and die sinkers producing tokens for circulation. Many Civil War tokens survive in high grades because merchants and the public saved them as novelties, resulting in a better average preservation than contemporary federal coins.

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-6a