(No Date) Civil War Store Card F-165GJ-10A, OH

Coin Details

Description

Civil War store card issued by Commission of Cincinnati, Ohio. 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 Commission indicate a notable level of token production. Struck in copper, this die combination (Fuld 165GJ-10A) is common. 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. Civil War tokens addressed a practical problem: the wartime disappearance of federal small change made daily transactions nearly impossible without private substitutes. Surviving specimens are tangible artifacts of the wartime monetary crisis that affected every commercial transaction in the Northern states.

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, Commission was a notable token issuer.

Cross References

Fuld 165GJ-10A