(No Date) Civil War Store Card F-200A-2A, OH

Coin Details

Description

Store card of John Grether in Columbus, Ohio, struck during the 1862-1864 token era. Columbus, the state capital, was a major military staging area with Camp Chase housing Confederate prisoners and thousands of Union troops training within the city. The 12 cataloged varieties for John Grether indicate a notable level of token production. This copper striking (Fuld 200A-2A) is common among the known varieties. 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. Civil War tokens addressed a practical problem: the wartime disappearance of federal small change made daily transactions nearly impossible without private substitutes. Surviving specimens are tangible artifacts of the wartime monetary crisis that affected every commercial transaction in the Northern states.

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 12 cataloged varieties, John Grether was a notable token issuer.

Cross References

Fuld 200A-2A