(No Date) Civil War Store Card F-815A-4A, OH

Coin Details

Description

Civil War store card issued by Fry & Johnston of Sidney, Ohio. The breadth of Ohio's Civil War token production reflects the state's diverse economy, from Cincinnati's river trade to Cleveland's Lake Erie shipping to interior manufacturing towns. Fry & Johnston issued 5 die varieties, more than most Civil War merchants. The copper composition of this variety (Fuld 815A-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. Merchant-issued tokens circulated as substitutes for scarce federal coinage throughout the Northern states between 1862 and 1864. Civil War store cards are collected both as numismatic items and as historical documents of wartime American commerce.

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 5 cataloged varieties, Fry & Johnston was a minor token issuer.

Cross References

Fuld 815A-4A