(No Date) Civil War Store Card F-540A-1B, OH

Coin Details

Description

Civil War store card from Ohio, cataloged as Fuld 540A-1B. 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. This brass striking (Fuld 540A-1B) is common to somewhat scarce among the known varieties. The absence of a date is typical for Civil War tokens produced during the 1862-1864 emergency currency period. Merchants typically ordered tokens from die-sinkers who maintained inventories of patriotic and advertising dies for rapid production. Store cards circulated as emergency currency after wartime hoarding removed federal coins from commercial channels. Brass was the second most common planchet material after copper, giving tokens a golden appearance. Collectors classify Civil War tokens by the Fuld numbering system, which catalogs each unique die combination with rarity ratings from R-1 (over 5,000 known) to R-10 (unique).

Rarity Notes

Brass strikings are among the more available metal variants, though typically less common than copper. With 1 cataloged varieties, this merchant was a limited producer of Civil War tokens.

Cross References

Fuld 540A-1B