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

Coin Details

Description

Civil War store card from Ohio, cataloged as Fuld 165CV-1B. Ohio produced more varieties of Civil War store cards than any other state, driven by Cincinnati's role as the largest inland city and a Union Army supply hub. The brass composition of this variety (Fuld 165CV-1B) is common to somewhat scarce for this merchant. The absence of a date on this token is standard for the 1862-1864 era, when speed of production mattered more than formality. Token production was a specialized trade — die sinkers maintained catalogs of stock dies that merchants could pair with custom obverses. Federal coinage vanished from circulation after 1861 as citizens hoarded silver and copper for their metal value, leaving merchants to fill the void with tokens. Brass planchets were readily available to die sinkers, making this a relatively accessible metal variant for collectors.

Rarity Notes

Brass strikings are among the more available metal variants, though typically less common than copper. With 2 cataloged varieties, this merchant was a limited producer of Civil War tokens.

Cross References

Fuld 165CV-1B