(No Date) Civil War Store Card F-165EU-9A, OH

Coin Details

Description

Civil War-era store card from J.F. Resta, a Cincinnati, Ohio business. 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. The 12 cataloged varieties for J.F. Resta indicate a notable level of token production. The copper composition of this variety (Fuld 165EU-9A) is common for this merchant. No date appears on this token, consistent with the rapid production practices of the 1862-1864 Civil War token boom. 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. 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, J.F. Resta was a notable token issuer.

Cross References

Fuld 165EU-9A