(No Date) Civil War Store Card F-165EH-8A, OH

Coin Details

Auction Record

$1,680 MS65BN 08-18-2019 Heritage Auctions

Description

This Civil War token was issued by O'Reilly Bros., operating in 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 12 cataloged varieties for O'Reilly Bros. indicate a notable level of token production. Struck in copper, this die combination (Fuld 165EH-8A) is common. Civil War tokens rarely bear dates. This piece was struck during the 1862-1864 coin shortage, when merchants needed emergency small change. Token manufacturers struck pieces by the thousands, using hand-fed screw presses capable of producing several hundred tokens per hour. Civil War tokens addressed a practical problem: the wartime disappearance of federal small change made daily transactions nearly impossible without private substitutes.

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-8A