(No Date) Civil War Store Card F-165N-15I, OH

Coin Details

Description

Civil War merchant token bearing the name of Dr. Bennett's, located in 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. Dr. Bennett's produced 36 cataloged die varieties, reflecting a substantial token operation. This zinc striking (Fuld 165N-15I) is scarce among the known varieties. Like the majority of Civil War store cards, this token is undated, produced during the acute 1862-1864 small change crisis. 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. Zinc strikings are uncommon and prone to corrosion, making preserved examples desirable.

Rarity Notes

Zinc strikings are relatively uncommon and prone to corrosion, making well-preserved examples particularly desirable. With 36 cataloged varieties, Dr. Bennett's was a moderately active token issuer.

Cross References

Fuld 165N-15I