(No Date) Civil War Store Card F-175N-1A, OH

Coin Details

Description

Civil War store card issued by J.P. Sherwood of Ohio. The breadth of Ohio's Civil War token production reflects the state's diverse economy, from Cincinnati's river trade to Cleveland's Lake Erie shipping to interior manufacturing towns. J.P. Sherwood issued 7 die varieties, more than most Civil War merchants. The copper composition of this variety (Fuld 175N-1A) is common for this merchant. The absence of a date on this token is standard for the 1862-1864 era, when speed of production mattered more than formality. Each unique combination of obverse and reverse dies constitutes a separate Fuld catalog number, even when struck in the same metal. Between 1862 and 1864, Northern merchants produced millions of private tokens to compensate for the disappearance of federal coinage. The cent-sized format was chosen deliberately to match the federal Indian Head cent, the coin most conspicuously absent from daily commerce.

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 7 cataloged varieties, J.P. Sherwood was a minor token issuer.

Cross References

Fuld 175N-1A