(No Date) Civil War Store Card F-165DW-12B, OH

Coin Details

Description

Civil War store card issued by Morgan & Ferry of Cincinnati, Ohio. 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. The 19 cataloged varieties for Morgan & Ferry indicate a notable level of token production. The brass composition of this variety (Fuld 165DW-12B) is common to somewhat scarce for this merchant. 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. Civil War tokens addressed a practical problem: the wartime disappearance of federal small change made daily transactions nearly impossible without private substitutes. Brass was the second most common planchet material after copper, giving tokens a golden appearance.

Rarity Notes

Brass strikings are among the more available metal variants, though typically less common than copper. With 19 cataloged varieties, Morgan & Ferry was a notable token issuer.

Cross References

Fuld 165DW-12B