(No Date) Civil War Store Card F-165AW-7D, OH

Coin Details

Auction Record

$360 MS63 11-18-2020 Stack's Bowers

Description

Civil War store card issued by Chas. Flach of Cincinnati, Ohio. Cincinnati's position as a Union Army supply center and Ohio River trade hub made it a prolific source of Civil War tokens. John Stanton and other die sinkers based in the city produced dies for merchants across the Midwest. The 13 cataloged varieties for Chas. Flach indicate a notable level of token production. The copper-nickel composition of this variety (Fuld 165AW-7D) is somewhat scarce for this merchant. 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. Civil War tokens addressed a practical problem: the wartime disappearance of federal small change made daily transactions nearly impossible without private substitutes. The copper-nickel composition gave these tokens the closest resemblance to federal coinage of any metal variant.

Rarity Notes

Copper-nickel strikings are moderately scarce compared to pure copper or brass versions. With 13 cataloged varieties, Chas. Flach was a notable token issuer.

Cross References

Fuld 165AW-7D