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

Coin Details

Description

Merchant token from City Hosiery of Cincinnati, Ohio, cataloged as Fuld 165X-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. City Hosiery issued 9 die varieties, more than most Civil War merchants. The brass composition of this variety (Fuld 165X-2B) is common to somewhat scarce for this merchant. No date appears on this token, consistent with the rapid production practices of the 1862-1864 Civil War token boom. Token production was a specialized trade — die sinkers maintained catalogs of stock dies that merchants could pair with custom obverses. Congress banned private token issuance in April 1864, but before that, tokens like this one circulated freely as cent substitutes in Northern commerce. Brass planchets were readily available to die sinkers, making this a relatively accessible metal variant for collectors.

Rarity Notes

Brass strikings are among the more available metal variants, though typically less common than copper. With 9 cataloged varieties, City Hosiery was a minor token issuer.

Cross References

Fuld 165X-2B