(No Date) Civil War Store Card F-165A-1A, IN

Coin Details

Description

Fuld 165A-1A — store card of Gentrys, Centervill, Indiana. Indiana was an important agricultural and manufacturing state, with merchants producing store cards as emergency currency when federal coinage was hoarded. Gentrys issued 6 die varieties, more than most Civil War merchants. The copper composition of this variety (Fuld 165A-1A) is common for this merchant. The absence of a date is typical for Civil War tokens produced during the 1862-1864 emergency currency period. The token trade was competitive, with die sinkers in New York, Cincinnati, and other cities vying for merchant orders across the region. 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 6 cataloged varieties, Gentrys was a minor token issuer.

Cross References

Fuld 165A-1A