(No Date) Civil War Store Card F-200D-4A, OH

Coin Details

Description

This Civil War token was issued by S.T. Martin, operating in Columbus, Ohio. As Ohio's capital, Columbus saw enormous wartime military activity, and its merchants issued tokens to facilitate commerce amid the acute coin shortage. S.T. Martin issued 9 die varieties, more than most Civil War merchants. This copper striking (Fuld 200D-4A) is common among the known varieties. Like the majority of Civil War store cards, this token is undated, produced during the acute 1862-1864 small change crisis. Merchants typically ordered tokens from die-sinkers who maintained inventories of patriotic and advertising dies for rapid production. Congress banned private token issuance in April 1864, but before that, tokens like this one circulated freely as cent substitutes in Northern commerce. 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 9 cataloged varieties, S.T. Martin was a minor token issuer.

Cross References

Fuld 200D-4A