(No Date) Civil War Store Card F-165EA-5B, OH

Coin Details

Description

E. Myers & Co., based in Cincinnati, Ohio, produced this token as a cent substitute during the wartime coin shortage. 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. E. Myers & Co. issued 9 die varieties, more than most Civil War merchants. This brass striking (Fuld 165EA-5B) is common to somewhat scarce among the known varieties. This undated piece entered commerce during the 1862-1864 period when millions of private tokens replaced vanished federal coinage. The dies for merchant tokens were usually cut by professional engravers who could produce a complete set in a matter of days. Congress banned private token issuance in April 1864, but before that, tokens like this one circulated freely as cent substitutes in Northern commerce. The brass composition gives this token a warm golden tone that contrasts with the reddish-brown of copper strikings.

Rarity Notes

Brass strikings are among the more available metal variants, though typically less common than copper. With 9 cataloged varieties, E. Myers & Co. was a minor token issuer.

Cross References

Fuld 165EA-5B