(No Date) Civil War Store Card F-165AZ-1B, OH

Coin Details

Auction Record

$55 MS65 08-29-2017 Heritage Auctions

Description

Civil War store card from Ohio, cataloged as Fuld 165AZ-1B. Ohio's extensive commercial networks across dozens of cities generated an unparalleled body of merchant token issues during the 1862-1864 coin shortage. Struck in brass, this die combination (Fuld 165AZ-1B) is common to somewhat scarce. Most Civil War store cards carry no date; this token was struck during the 1862-1864 coin shortage era. Many Civil War tokens share common reverse dies, as die sinkers paired merchant-specific obverses with stock patriotic or advertising reverses. Civil War tokens addressed a practical problem: the wartime disappearance of federal small change made daily transactions nearly impossible without private substitutes. Brass was the second most common planchet material after copper, giving tokens a golden appearance. The cent-sized format was chosen deliberately to match the federal Indian Head cent, the coin most conspicuously absent from daily commerce.

Rarity Notes

Brass strikings are among the more available metal variants, though typically less common than copper. With 6 cataloged varieties, this merchant was a minor token issuer.

Cross References

Fuld 165AZ-1B