(No Date) Civil War Store Card F-330B-2A, OH

Coin Details

Description

Merchant token from Dr. E. Dillon & Son of Ohio, cataloged as Fuld 330B-2A. Ohio produced more varieties of Civil War store cards than any other state, driven by Cincinnati's role as the largest inland city and a Union Army supply hub. With 4 known varieties, Dr. E. Dillon & Son produced a modest number of token types. This copper striking (Fuld 330B-2A) is common among the known varieties. Undated Civil War tokens like this one circulated alongside dated issues during the 1862-1864 period. The token trade was competitive, with die sinkers in New York, Cincinnati, and other cities vying for merchant orders across the region. Between 1862 and 1864, Northern merchants produced millions of private tokens to compensate for the disappearance of federal coinage. The cent-sized format was chosen deliberately to match the federal Indian Head cent, the coin most conspicuously absent from daily commerce.

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 4 cataloged varieties, Dr. E. Dillon & Son was a limited producer of Civil War tokens.

Cross References

Fuld 330B-2A