(No Date) Civil War Store Card F-175C-14A, OH

Coin Details

Description

Civil War store card from Cleveland, Ohio, cataloged as Fuld 175C-14A. Cleveland was a major Lake Erie port and growing industrial center connected to Eastern markets by railroad and the Ohio & Erie Canal. Struck in copper, this die combination (Fuld 175C-14A) is common. Although undated, this token was produced during the 1862-1864 period when federal coins disappeared from commerce. Many Civil War tokens share common reverse dies, as die sinkers paired merchant-specific obverses with stock patriotic or advertising reverses. Civil War tokens addressed a practical problem: the wartime disappearance of federal small change made daily transactions nearly impossible without private substitutes. Many Civil War tokens survive in high grades because merchants and the public saved them as novelties, resulting in a better average preservation than contemporary federal coins.

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 17 cataloged varieties, this merchant was a notable token issuer.

Cross References

Fuld 175C-14A