(No Date) Civil War Store Card F-700C-5d, RH

Coin Details

Description

Civil War store card from the Fuld 700C-5d series, attributed to the unidentified issuer "RH." Assigned to the Fuld 700 "RH" series, a large group of Civil War store cards whose issuer remains unidentified. The scope of the series — spanning many die pairings and metal variants — points to a professional token manufacturer rather than an individual retail merchant. The copper-nickel alloy matches the federal cent composition, making this a somewhat scarce variant among Civil War token issues. This undated piece was produced circa 1862-1864 during the wartime coin shortage. Civil War tokens circulated alongside postage currency, fractional currency notes, and encased postage stamps as substitutes for the federal coins that had disappeared from commercial channels. Congress banned private token issuance in April 1864, and the introduction of fractional currency notes and new bronze two-cent pieces gradually eliminated the need for emergency tokens.

Rarity Notes

Copper-nickel strikings are moderately scarce compared to pure copper or brass versions. With 19 cataloged varieties, RH was a notable token issuer.

Cross References

Fuld 700C-5d