(No Date) Civil War Store Card F-175S-5A, OH

Coin Details

Auction Record

$165 XF40 10-25-2016 Heritage Auctions

Description

Geo. Worthington & Co., based in Cleveland, Ohio, produced this token as a cent substitute during the wartime coin shortage. Cleveland was a major Lake Erie port and growing industrial center connected to Eastern markets by railroad and the Ohio & Erie Canal. The 17 cataloged varieties for Geo. Worthington & Co. indicate a notable level of token production. Struck in copper, this die combination (Fuld 175S-5A) is common. No date appears on this token, consistent with the rapid production practices of the 1862-1864 Civil War token boom. Die sinkers offered merchants a choice of metals, with copper being cheapest and most common, while silver and gold were struck for collectors. The token era ended when Congress authorized new federal small-denomination currency and criminalized private token production in 1864. After Congress banned private coinage in 1864, surviving tokens became instant collectibles, with serious collecting beginning within a decade of the war's end.

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, Geo. Worthington & Co. was a notable token issuer.

Cross References

Fuld 175S-5A