(No Date) Civil War Store Card F-165FH-7D, OH

Coin Details

Description

Fuld 165FH-7D — store card of H. Schmidt's, 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 11 cataloged varieties for H. Schmidt's indicate a notable level of token production. This copper-nickel striking (Fuld 165FH-7D) is somewhat scarce among the known varieties. 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. Between 1862 and 1864, Northern merchants produced millions of private tokens to compensate for the disappearance of federal coinage. The copper-nickel composition gave these tokens the closest resemblance to federal coinage of any metal variant.

Rarity Notes

Copper-nickel strikings are moderately scarce compared to pure copper or brass versions. With 11 cataloged varieties, H. Schmidt's was a notable token issuer.

Cross References

Fuld 165FH-7D