(No Date) Civil War Store Card F-165FE-1B, OH

Coin Details

Auction Record

$840 MS62 09-02-2021 Stack's Bowers

Description

Civil War store card from Ohio, cataloged as Fuld 165FE-1B. Ohio produced more varieties of Civil War store cards than any other state, driven by Cincinnati's role as the largest inland city and a Union Army supply hub. This brass striking (Fuld 165FE-1B) is common to somewhat scarce among the known varieties. The absence of a date is typical for Civil War tokens produced during the 1862-1864 emergency currency period. Many Civil War tokens share common reverse dies, as die sinkers paired merchant-specific obverses with stock patriotic or advertising reverses. Store cards circulated as emergency currency after wartime hoarding removed federal coins from commercial channels. Brass was the second most common planchet material after copper, giving tokens a golden appearance. Token production peaked in 1863 when the coin shortage was most acute, with die sinkers working around the clock to fill merchant orders.

Rarity Notes

Brass strikings are among the more available metal variants, though typically less common than copper. With 2 cataloged varieties, this merchant was a limited producer of Civil War tokens.

Cross References

Fuld 165FE-1B