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

Coin Details

Description

Ni W. Gentsch of Cincinnati issued this token as emergency currency during the Civil War coin shortage. Known as the "Queen of the West," Cincinnati served as a major Ohio River commercial hub. Its merchants produced hundreds of store card varieties during the 1862-1864 coin shortage. Ni W. Gentsch issued 8 die varieties, more than most Civil War merchants. This copper striking (Fuld 165BD-1A) 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. 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 8 cataloged varieties, Ni W. Gentsch was a minor token issuer.

Cross References

Fuld 165BD-1A