Merchant Token

About Merchant Token

Also called store cards. Tokens issued by merchants as small change when official coins were scarce. Featured the merchants name and business. Many also included the denomination. The Civil War created the greatest demand for merchant tokens. Over 10,000 different Civil War merchant tokens are catalogued. The most prolific issuers were in Cincinnati, New York, and Chicago. Merchant tokens are collected for their local historical interest and variety of designs.