(No Date) Civil War Store Card F-165J-1A, OH

Coin Details

Description

R. Bathgate, based in Cincinnati, Ohio, produced this token as a cent substitute during the wartime coin shortage. 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. R. Bathgate issued 9 die varieties, more than most Civil War merchants. Struck in copper, this die combination (Fuld 165J-1A) is common. 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. Civil War tokens addressed a practical problem: the wartime disappearance of federal small change made daily transactions nearly impossible without private substitutes.

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 9 cataloged varieties, R. Bathgate was a minor token issuer.

Cross References

Fuld 165J-1A