(No Date) Civil War Store Card F-165EA-1A, OH

Coin Details

Description

Fuld 165EA-1A — store card of E. Myers & Co., Cincinnati, Ohio. 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. E. Myers & Co. issued 9 die varieties, more than most Civil War merchants. This copper striking (Fuld 165EA-1A) is common among the known varieties. Most Civil War store cards carry no date; this token was struck during the 1862-1864 coin shortage era. 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. After Congress banned private coinage in 1864, surviving tokens became instant collectibles, with serious collecting beginning within a decade of the war's end.

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, E. Myers & Co. was a minor token issuer.

Cross References

Fuld 165EA-1A