(No Date) Civil War Store Card F-385D-4B, OH

Coin Details

Description

Civil War store card from Hamilton, Ohio, cataloged as Fuld 385D-4B. 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. The brass composition of this variety (Fuld 385D-4B) 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. 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. 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 11 cataloged varieties, this merchant was a notable token issuer.

Cross References

Fuld 385D-4B