(No Date) Civil War Store Card F-765N-3a, PA

Coin Details

Description

Pekin Tea Store, based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, produced this token as a cent substitute during the wartime coin shortage. Pennsylvania was the Union's industrial heartland, with Philadelphia as a manufacturing center and Pittsburgh as an iron and steel producer. The 15 cataloged varieties for Pekin Tea Store indicate a notable level of token production. Struck in copper, this die combination (Fuld 765N-3a) is common. This undated piece entered commerce during the 1862-1864 period when millions of private tokens replaced vanished federal coinage. 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.

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 15 cataloged varieties, Pekin Tea Store was a notable token issuer.

Cross References

Fuld 765N-3a