(No Date) Copper Civil War Store Card F-165BM-2a, Pebbles OH

Coin Details

Auction Record

$528 MS63BN 09-02-2021 Stack's Bowers

Description

Store card of Harpel in Cincinnati, Ohio, struck during the 1862-1864 token era. Cincinnati's position as a Union Army supply center and Ohio River trade hub made it a prolific source of Civil War tokens. John Stanton and other die sinkers based in the city produced dies for merchants across the Midwest. Harpel issued 8 die varieties, more than most Civil War merchants. The copper composition of this variety (Fuld 165BM-2a) is common for this merchant. This undated token was struck circa 1862-1864 during the wartime coin shortage. Many Civil War tokens share common reverse dies, as die sinkers paired merchant-specific obverses with stock patriotic or advertising reverses. Civil War tokens addressed a practical problem: the wartime disappearance of federal small change made daily transactions nearly impossible without private substitutes. 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

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 8 cataloged varieties, Harpel was a minor token issuer.

Cross References

Fuld 165BM-2a