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

Coin Details

Description

Merchant token from C.E. Clark's of Cincinnati, Ohio, cataloged as Fuld 165Y-2B. Known as the "Queen of the West," Cincinnati served as a major Ohio River commercial hub. Its merchants produced hundreds of store card varieties during the 1862-1864 coin shortage. The 11 cataloged varieties for C.E. Clark's indicate a notable level of token production. This brass striking (Fuld 165Y-2B) is common to somewhat scarce among the known varieties. 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 Civil War small change crisis generated the largest private coinage movement in American history, with merchants and die sinkers producing tokens for circulation. 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 11 cataloged varieties, C.E. Clark's was a notable token issuer.

Cross References

Fuld 165Y-2B