(No Date) Civil War Store Card F-175S-9B, OH

Coin Details

Auction Record

$282 MS63 11-15-2016 Heritage Auctions

Description

Fuld 175S-9B — store card of Geo. Worthington & Co., Cleveland, Ohio. Cleveland's position on Lake Erie made it a vital shipping hub for wartime goods, and its merchants participated actively in the Civil War token phenomenon. The 17 cataloged varieties for Geo. Worthington & Co. indicate a notable level of token production. This brass striking (Fuld 175S-9B) is common to somewhat scarce among the known varieties. This undated piece entered commerce during the 1862-1864 period when millions of private tokens replaced vanished federal coinage. 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 17 cataloged varieties, Geo. Worthington & Co. was a notable token issuer.

Cross References

Fuld 175S-9B