(No Date) Civil War Store Card F-165GB-3A, OH

Coin Details

Description

Merchant token from E. Townley of Cincinnati, Ohio, cataloged as Fuld 165GB-3A. 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 16 cataloged varieties for E. Townley indicate a notable level of token production. The copper composition of this variety (Fuld 165GB-3A) is common for this merchant. This undated token was struck circa 1862-1864 during the wartime coin shortage. Token production was a specialized trade — die sinkers maintained catalogs of stock dies that merchants could pair with custom obverses. Store cards circulated as emergency currency after wartime hoarding removed federal coins from commercial channels. Collectors classify Civil War tokens by the Fuld numbering system, which catalogs each unique die combination with rarity ratings from R-1 (over 5,000 known) to R-10 (unique).

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 16 cataloged varieties, E. Townley was a notable token issuer.

Cross References

Fuld 165GB-3A