(No Date) Civil War Store Card F-890B-2a, WV

Coin Details

Description

This Civil War token was issued by John Eckhart, operating in Wheeling, West Virginia. West Virginia separated from Virginia in 1863 to remain in the Union. Its merchants produced tokens to address the coin shortage in the newly formed state. John Eckhart issued 5 die varieties, more than most Civil War merchants. Struck in copper, this die combination (Fuld 890B-2a) 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. Between 1862 and 1864, Northern merchants produced millions of private tokens to compensate for the disappearance of federal coinage. The cent-sized format was chosen deliberately to match the federal Indian Head cent, the coin most conspicuously absent from daily 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, John Eckhart was a minor token issuer.

Cross References

Fuld 890B-2a