(No Date) Civil War Store Card F-165CQ-4A, OH

Coin Details

Description

Civil War store card issued by Jacob Knauber of Cincinnati, Ohio. 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. Jacob Knauber issued 9 die varieties, more than most Civil War merchants. Struck in copper, this die combination (Fuld 165CQ-4A) is common. The absence of a date is typical for Civil War tokens produced during the 1862-1864 emergency currency period. Many Civil War tokens share common reverse dies, as die sinkers paired merchant-specific obverses with stock patriotic or advertising reverses. Congress banned private token issuance in April 1864, but before that, tokens like this one circulated freely as cent substitutes in Northern commerce. Surviving specimens are tangible artifacts of the wartime monetary crisis that affected every commercial transaction in the Northern states.

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 9 cataloged varieties, Jacob Knauber was a minor token issuer.

Cross References

Fuld 165CQ-4A