(No Date) Civil War Store Card F-165CY-48B, OH

Coin Details

Description

Civil War store card from Cincinnati, Ohio, cataloged as Fuld 165CY-48B. Cincinnati's position as a Union Army supply center and Ohio River trade hub made it a prolific source of Civil War tokens. John Stanton and other die sinkers based in the city produced dies for merchants across the Midwest. The brass composition of this variety (Fuld 165CY-48B) is common to somewhat scarce for this merchant. This undated token was struck circa 1862-1864 during the wartime coin shortage. Token production was a specialized trade — die sinkers maintained catalogs of stock dies that merchants could pair with custom obverses. Merchant-issued tokens circulated as substitutes for scarce federal coinage throughout the Northern states between 1862 and 1864. Brass strikings are among the more available variants, though less common than copper. Civil War store cards are collected both as numismatic items and as historical documents of wartime American commerce.

Rarity Notes

Brass strikings are among the more available metal variants, though typically less common than copper. With 72 cataloged varieties, this merchant was a substantial producer of Civil War tokens.

Cross References

Fuld 165CY-48B