(No Date) Civil War Store Card F-165EH-5A, OH

Coin Details

Description

Merchant token from O'Reilly Bros. of Cincinnati, Ohio, cataloged as Fuld 165EH-5A. 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 12 cataloged varieties for O'Reilly Bros. indicate a notable level of token production. This copper striking (Fuld 165EH-5A) is common among the known varieties. Civil War tokens rarely bear dates. This piece was struck during the 1862-1864 coin shortage, when merchants needed emergency small change. Professional die sinkers like John Stanton, Benjamin True, and William Bridgens supplied dies to merchants across the Northern states. Merchant-issued tokens circulated as substitutes for scarce federal coinage throughout the Northern states between 1862 and 1864. 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 12 cataloged varieties, O'Reilly Bros. was a notable token issuer.

Cross References

Fuld 165EH-5A