(No Date) Civil War Store Card F-310A-1B, OH

Coin Details

Description

E.L. Lemert of Frazeyburg issued this token as emergency currency during the Civil War coin shortage. 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. E.L. Lemert issued 5 die varieties, more than most Civil War merchants. The brass composition of this variety (Fuld 310A-1B) is common to somewhat scarce 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. Token production was a specialized trade — die sinkers maintained catalogs of stock dies that merchants could pair with custom obverses. Federal coinage vanished from circulation after 1861 as citizens hoarded silver and copper for their metal value, leaving merchants to fill the void with tokens. Brass planchets were readily available to die sinkers, making this a relatively accessible metal variant for collectors.

Rarity Notes

Brass strikings are among the more available metal variants, though typically less common than copper. With 5 cataloged varieties, E.L. Lemert was a minor token issuer.

Cross References

Fuld 310A-1B