The nine Columbus merchants who issued Civil War tokens operated in a very competitive environment in a booming town.
Money flooded into the community from five hastily-built military camps and numerous military suppliers.
There were winners and losers in this supercharged environment. The issuers of Civil War tokens appear to have been in the thick of it.
Four grocers issued tokens. One had just bought out his partner; another was new to business; all were feeling intense competition from new stores. They all claimed to have the cheapest prices, but one printed his prices in the paper for all to see.
One of the grocers, J.M. Koerner, was also a minor politician who ran for office in 1863.
Two restaurants, both just opened, issued tokens. S.T. Martin, whose dining hall faced the city's bustling market, was the most prolific issuer of tokens.
Of the estimated 15,000 to 30,000 Columbus tokens that survive, more than half were issued by Martin.
Other businesses that issued tokens were an importer facing stiff competition from a deep pocketed nearby store; a long established milliner who saw four new competitors spring up around her hat store in 1863; and a baker with a flare for publicity .
The tokens appear to have been as much about advertising as a means of exchange.
The editor of The Ohio State Journal took great exception to them in a brief article on July 10, 1863.
Under the heading, "Counterfeit postal currency and swindlers in bogus coppers," he wrote: "The country is being flooded with counterfeit postal currency and bogus coppers. We advise our readers to be on the look for the former, and to refuse receiving the 'copper stuff' that, now infests our city. At this time there is no necessity for other than legal currency, and parties attempting to palm upon the community advertisements instead of money and for money should be dealt with as the law directs."
That article, curiously, appears to have been the only one printed in Columbus about the tokens.
