(No Date) Civil War Store Card F-765S-4a, PA

Coin Details

Description

Pittsburgh Gazette, 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. Pittsburgh Gazette issued 6 die varieties, more than most Civil War merchants. The copper composition of this variety (Fuld 765S-4a) is common for this merchant. The absence of a date on this token is standard for the 1862-1864 era, when speed of production mattered more than formality. 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.

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 6 cataloged varieties, Pittsburgh Gazette was a minor token issuer.

Cross References

Fuld 765S-4a