(No Date) Civil War Store Card F-765P-14a, PA

Coin Details

Description

Merchant token from Pittock's of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, cataloged as Fuld 765P-14a. Pennsylvania was the Union's industrial heartland, with Philadelphia as a manufacturing center and Pittsburgh as an iron and steel producer. Pittock's produced 27 cataloged die varieties, reflecting a substantial token operation. The copper composition of this variety (Fuld 765P-14a) is common for this merchant. No date appears on this token, consistent with the rapid production practices of the 1862-1864 Civil War token boom. Token production was a specialized trade — die sinkers maintained catalogs of stock dies that merchants could pair with custom obverses. Federal coinage vanished from circulation after 1861 as citizens hoarded silver and copper for their metal value, leaving merchants to fill the void with tokens. Token production peaked in 1863 when the coin shortage was most acute, with die sinkers working around the clock to fill merchant orders.

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 27 cataloged varieties, Pittock's was a moderately active token issuer.

Cross References

Fuld 765P-14a