(No Date) Civil War Store Card F-165AW-2A, OH

Coin Details

Description

Chas. Flach, based in Cincinnati, Ohio, produced this token as a cent substitute during the wartime coin shortage. Cincinnati was the largest inland city in antebellum America and a critical supply center for the Union Army, driving Ohio to produce more varieties of Civil War store cards than any other state. The 13 cataloged varieties for Chas. Flach indicate a notable level of token production. This copper striking (Fuld 165AW-2A) is common among the known varieties. Undated Civil War tokens like this one circulated alongside dated issues during the 1862-1864 period. Token manufacturers struck pieces by the thousands, using hand-fed screw presses capable of producing several hundred tokens per hour. Civil War tokens addressed a practical problem: the wartime disappearance of federal small change made daily transactions nearly impossible without private substitutes.

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 13 cataloged varieties, Chas. Flach was a notable token issuer.

Cross References

Fuld 165AW-2A