(No Date) Civil War Store Card F-165P-4A, OH

Coin Details

Description

Frank Beresford, a Cincinnati merchant, issued this Civil War store card during the 1862-1864 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. The 16 cataloged varieties for Frank Beresford indicate a notable level of token production. This copper striking (Fuld 165P-4A) is common 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.

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, Frank Beresford was a notable token issuer.

Cross References

Fuld 165P-4A