(No Date) Civil War Store Card F-165I-2B, OH

Coin Details

Description

Civil War store card from Cincinnati, Ohio, cataloged as Fuld 165I-2B. 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. Struck in brass, this die combination (Fuld 165I-2B) is common to somewhat scarce. Civil War tokens rarely bear dates. This piece was struck during the 1862-1864 coin shortage, when merchants needed emergency small change. Professional die sinkers like John Stanton, Benjamin True, and William Bridgens supplied dies to merchants across the Northern states. The hoarding of federal coinage created an acute shortage of small change, prompting thousands of merchants to issue tokens as practical substitutes. The brass composition gives this token a warm golden tone that contrasts with the reddish-brown of copper strikings.

Rarity Notes

Brass strikings are among the more available metal variants, though typically less common than copper. With 4 cataloged varieties, this merchant was a limited producer of Civil War tokens.

Cross References

Fuld 165I-2B