(No Date) Civil War Store Card F-750P-3d, OH

Coin Details

Description

Civil War store card from Ohio, cataloged as Fuld 750P-3d. Ohio produced more varieties of Civil War store cards than any other state, driven by Cincinnati's role as the largest inland city and a Union Army supply hub. Struck in copper-nickel, this die combination (Fuld 750P-3d) is somewhat scarce. Undated Civil War tokens like this one circulated alongside dated issues during the 1862-1864 period. Token manufacturers struck pieces by the thousands, using hand-fed screw presses capable of producing several hundred tokens per hour. Civil War tokens addressed a practical problem: the wartime disappearance of federal small change made daily transactions nearly impossible without private substitutes. Copper-nickel strikings are moderately scarce, resembling the federal Indian Head cent in both size and color. The cent-sized format was chosen deliberately to match the federal Indian Head cent, the coin most conspicuously absent from daily commerce.

Rarity Notes

Copper-nickel strikings are moderately scarce compared to pure copper or brass versions. With 5 cataloged varieties, this merchant was a minor token issuer.

Cross References

Fuld 750P-3d