(No Date) Copper Civil War Store Card F-175P-1a, Tages OH

Coin Details

Auction Record

$80 MS63BN 11-18-2020 Stack's Bowers

Description

Civil War merchant token bearing the name of Tages in Ohio. Ohio's extensive commercial networks across dozens of cities generated an unparalleled body of merchant token issues during the 1862-1864 coin shortage. With 2 known varieties, Tages produced a modest number of token types. Struck in copper, this die combination (Fuld 175P-1a) is common. The absence of a date on this token is standard for the 1862-1864 era, when speed of production mattered more than formality. The dies for merchant tokens were usually cut by professional engravers who could produce a complete set in a matter of days. Civil War tokens addressed a practical problem: the wartime disappearance of federal small change made daily transactions nearly impossible without private substitutes. 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 2 cataloged varieties, Tages was a limited producer of Civil War tokens.

Cross References

Fuld 175P-1a