(No Date) Civil War Store Card F-765O-2i, PA

Coin Details

Description

Civil War store card from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, cataloged as Fuld 765O-2i. Pennsylvania was the Union's industrial heartland, with Philadelphia as a manufacturing center and Pittsburgh as an iron and steel producer. Struck in zinc, this die combination (Fuld 765O-2i) is scarce. 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. The token era ended when Congress authorized new federal small-denomination currency and criminalized private token production in 1864. Zinc tokens corrode easily, and surviving examples in good condition are scarce. Many Civil War tokens survive in high grades because merchants and the public saved them as novelties, resulting in a better average preservation than contemporary federal coins.

Rarity Notes

Zinc strikings are relatively uncommon and prone to corrosion, making well-preserved examples particularly desirable. With 8 cataloged varieties, this merchant was a minor token issuer.

Cross References

Fuld 765O-2i