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

Coin Details

Description

Civil War merchant token bearing the name of O'Reilly Bros., located in 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. The 12 cataloged varieties for O'Reilly Bros. indicate a notable level of token production. The brass composition of this variety (Fuld 165EH-5B) is common to somewhat scarce for this merchant. The absence of a date on this token is standard for the 1862-1864 era, when speed of production mattered more than formality. Token production was a specialized trade — die sinkers maintained catalogs of stock dies that merchants could pair with custom obverses. Congress banned private token issuance in April 1864, but before that, tokens like this one circulated freely as cent substitutes in Northern commerce. Brass planchets were readily available to die sinkers, making this a relatively accessible metal variant for collectors.

Rarity Notes

Brass strikings are among the more available metal variants, though typically less common than copper. With 12 cataloged varieties, O'Reilly Bros. was a notable token issuer.

Cross References

Fuld 165EH-5B