(No Date) Civil War Store Card F-165ER-7B, OH

Coin Details

Description

Fuld 165ER-7B — store card of John Ravy, 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 17 cataloged varieties for John Ravy indicate a notable level of token production. Struck in brass, this die combination (Fuld 165ER-7B) is common to somewhat scarce. The absence of a date on this token is standard for the 1862-1864 era, when speed of production mattered more than formality. Die sinkers offered merchants a choice of metals, with copper being cheapest and most common, while silver and gold were struck for collectors. Civil War tokens addressed a practical problem: the wartime disappearance of federal small change made daily transactions nearly impossible without private substitutes. 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 17 cataloged varieties, John Ravy was a notable token issuer.

Cross References

Fuld 165ER-7B