(No Date) Civil War Store Card F-165CS-3A, OH

Coin Details

Description

Merchant token from John Koch of Cincinnati, Ohio, cataloged as Fuld 165CS-3A. 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. John Koch issued 6 die varieties, more than most Civil War merchants. This copper striking (Fuld 165CS-3A) is common among the known varieties. Although undated, this token was produced during the 1862-1864 period when federal coins disappeared from commerce. Token production was a specialized trade — die sinkers maintained catalogs of stock dies that merchants could pair with custom obverses. Congress banned private token issuance in April 1864, but before that, tokens like this one circulated freely as cent substitutes in Northern commerce. Many Civil War tokens survive in high grades because merchants and the public saved them as novelties, resulting in a better average preservation than contemporary federal coins.

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 6 cataloged varieties, John Koch was a minor token issuer.

Cross References

Fuld 165CS-3A