Requesting Some Help With 1853 Half Dollar - Counterstamped 'N C Baker'

A Brasher Doubloon

And here he is.

The most expensive US coin to change hands was the SP66 1794 dollar which was NOT counterstamped.

The Brasher Doubloon was not a US coin it was a privately made "token", and was "counterstamped" by the same person that made it. I'm not sure I would consider that a true counterstamp.

The most expensive counterstamped US coin was the Dexter specimen of the 1804 dollar.

I found no listing for the N.C. BAKER counterstamp in Brunk's 2003 book. That's not unusual though. I have many hundreds of as yet unlisted pieces, myself.

I did find two directory listings for an N.C. Baker .... links provided ....

1877 Chicago - Baker, N.C., clerk

https://books.google.com/books?id=o....%22&f=false


1871 Whitehall, NY - Baker, N.C., Railroad Agent

https://books.google.com/books?id=h....%22&f=false


Many counterstamps were made by machinists who were active in some masonic order. Machinists had the ability to create stamps that "brothers" in the fraternal order might want for personal or business use. Sometimes, a simple pocket piece was wanted for use as a "calling card" to show brother masons.

Another use was due to an individual needing a patent stamp. I was unable to locate any patents sought by an "N.C. Baker." I also searched for "Baker, N.C.," "Baker, Nathan C." and "Nathan C. Baker." When searching, I use quotation marks to narrow search results and add the word "PATENT." My inability to locate a patent doesn't rule out that possibility, as I did a cursory search from books in my online Google library. Many books are not yet available in digital form. This holds true for early city directories, too.

I tend to lean toward the possibility of the Whitehall railroad agent having use for a counterstamp, as opposed to the Chicago clerk. Many railroad employees secured patents for improvements to that service. They were more likely affiliated with a masonic order than say, a clerk.

If this N.C. BAKER counterstamp is to ever be positively attributed, either a product that bears a matching mark or another counterstamped coin that bears additional info like an address or occupation will need be located. While this seems akin to finding the proverbial "needle in a hatstack," I know from experience that this occasionally happens.

Given the higher grade of our OP's coin, I would say that this counterstamp does indeed lower the value. That said, if N.C. Baker is discovered, and some meaningful history can be attached to him, the value with the stamp could well exceed that of the coin.

@conder .... Found this at https://sites.google.com/site/moste...-breast-1787 reads as follows ....

"Unique 1787 Brasher Doubloon, EB on Breast, Garrett Specimen

America's First Gold Coin Struck

Pronounced by Numismatic experts as America is most famous and significant coin, this unique doubloon is also widely accepted as the very first gold coin struck by the United States of America. One of only seven examples known, this specimen is unique in that the EB counterstamp (initials of silversmith Ephraim Brasher, who made the coin) is on the shield over the eagles breast. The other six examples carry the EB stamp on the eagles wing.

A coin of unparalleled historic importance, this precious rarity has been a classic since the earliest days of coin collecting in the United States."

@ conder ... Can you cite any numismatic sources that refer to the Brasher pieces as tokens?
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Note that every numismatic article I've ever encountered on Brasher doubloons refers to them as coins. I've yet to read about a "Brasher token" Indeed, some possess elements of traditional U.S. coins, circulating today. There's the motto, E PLURIBUS UNUM, the eagle, stars and the olive branch. The doubloons had a specie value, too. It can easily argued that Brasher's coin helped set a standard for official U.S. coins that followed.

In 1787, there was no mint. Brasher sought approval for his pattern coin in NY State. If I was to accept the belief that "coins" not issued and released for circulation by the U.S. government are really tokens, doesn't that imply that 1913 Liberty "Nickels," 1933 Gold "Double Eagles," 1894-S Barber "Dimes," etc., and all pattern pieces are also tokens, not coins?

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IMHO, pattern pieces like the Brasher Doubloons were proposed to circulate as coins, therefore, they're not token issues. Tokens are substitutes for coins. Doubloons, one of which PCGS assigned a $15 denomination, were not coin substitutes.

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Glad we can agree on something, I am.

Rich Hartzog, God rest his soul, was an expert on exonumia. Rich long held the position that, by "virtue" of being counterstamped, a coin becomes a token and ceases to be a coin. It's been estimated that, during the 1850's, about 10% of then circulating coins were counterstamped.

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In looking back to reference what I said, about a Brasher Doubloon once being the most valuable coin sold, it appears that I should've said "gold" coin .... It's been a long time since I read that, and I'm unable to cite the specific source.

Hey Quartergeek .... Happy to help! Given the potential first name, I found the below info. Note that this Norris C. was born in 1853, being the same year as your coin.
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Website: https://www.myheritage.com/names/clara_ormsby

Clara O Baker (born Ormsby), 1852 - 1943
Clara O Baker (born Ormsby) was born on month day 1852, at birth place, Vermont, to Dr. John Bliss Ormsby and Malina LeMar Ormsby (born Baker).
John was born on January 2 1821, in Corinth, Orange, Vermont, USA.
Malina was born on February 13 1825, in Canada.
Clara had 3 siblings: Thomas Edwin Ormsby and 2 other siblings.
Clara married Norris Calvin Baker on month day 1894, at age 42 at marriage place, Massachusetts.
Norris was born on January 18 1853, in Shipton (Danville) Quebec, Canada.
They had one daughter: Doris Juliette Hemminger (born Baker).
Clara lived in 1900, at address, Florida.
She lived in 1910, at address, Florida.
She lived in 1920, at address, Florida.
She lived in 1930, at address, Florida.
She lived in 1935, at address, Florida.
She lived on month day 1940, at address, Florida.
Clara passed away on month day 1943, at age 91 at death place, Florida.
She was buried at burial place, Florida.
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If the above NORRIS can be connected to your family, this is about as slam dunk of an attribution that you may get.

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The above Norris is buried in Tampa, FL. Here's a link to his gravesite that also shows a portrait .... https://www.findagrave.com/memorial...calvin-baker






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I found Norris listed in a 1922 Tampa City directory. Here's his info .... Baker Norris C (Clara), mgr Reliable Seed Co, h R F D 2

Here's a link to the directory .... https://archive.org/stream/rlpolkst...lpo_djvu.txt

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Hope this helps nail your counterstamp as a family heirloom!

Thanks for the acknowledgement, Quartergeek. I hope you'll share the results with me. These counterstamp pursuits often prove to be learning experiences for me.

Baker's purposeful stamp may well have been used when was younger. He may have attempted to patent a product in Canada and/or belonged to a masonic order. These are other avenues that might provide added insight.