(No Date) Civil War Store Card F-65B-3G, OH

Coin Details

Description

Civil War-era store card from P. Brady, a Bellevue, Ohio business. 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 11 cataloged varieties for P. Brady indicate a notable level of token production. This gold striking (Fuld 65B-3G) is extremely rare among the known varieties. This undated piece entered commerce during the 1862-1864 period when millions of private tokens replaced vanished federal coinage. Professional die sinkers like John Stanton, Benjamin True, and William Bridgens supplied dies to merchants across the Northern states. The Civil War small change crisis generated the largest private coinage movement in American history, with merchants and die sinkers producing tokens for circulation. A gold striking of any Civil War token is a major rarity, usually produced for a die sinker's personal collection or as a gift.

Rarity Notes

Gold strikings of Civil War tokens are among the rarest of all metal variants, produced in tiny quantities for presentation purposes or the collector market. With 11 cataloged varieties, P. Brady was a notable token issuer.

Cross References

Fuld 65B-3G