(No Date) Civil War Store Card F-165AY-2I, OH

Coin Details

Description

Civil War store card from Ohio, cataloged as Fuld 165AY-2I. The breadth of Ohio's Civil War token production reflects the state's diverse economy, from Cincinnati's river trade to Cleveland's Lake Erie shipping to interior manufacturing towns. The zinc composition of this variety (Fuld 165AY-2I) is scarce for this merchant. 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. Between 1862 and 1864, Northern merchants produced millions of private tokens to compensate for the disappearance of federal coinage. Zinc strikings are uncommon and prone to corrosion, making preserved examples desirable. George and Melvin Fuld's catalog remains the standard reference for Civil War tokens, with each variety assigned a unique identification number.

Rarity Notes

Zinc strikings are relatively uncommon and prone to corrosion, making well-preserved examples particularly desirable. With 9 cataloged varieties, this merchant was a minor token issuer.

Cross References

Fuld 165AY-2I