(No Date) Civil War Store Card F-555A-1A, OH

Coin Details

Description

Merchant token from P.L. Potter of Middleton, Ohio, cataloged as Fuld 555A-1A. 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 12 cataloged varieties for P.L. Potter indicate a notable level of token production. Struck in copper, this die combination (Fuld 555A-1A) is common. Civil War tokens rarely bear dates. This piece was struck during the 1862-1864 coin shortage, when merchants needed emergency small change. Token manufacturers struck pieces by the thousands, using hand-fed screw presses capable of producing several hundred tokens per hour. Private tokens entered circulation after the suspension of specie payments in late 1861 drained small change from 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 12 cataloged varieties, P.L. Potter was a notable token issuer.

Cross References

Fuld 555A-1A