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Pillar of the Community
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Pillar of the Community
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Beautiful coins everyone  1834   Member ANA and EAC "You got to lose to know how to win". Dream On by Aerosmith |
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Pillar of the Community
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We're seeing many beautiful and pleasing "little sisters" here; this, as passionate collectors of early coppers often refer to Half Cents. Large cents were the single-most common victims of counterstamping, but a great many Half Cents were also repurposed for one reason or another. The below 1834 Half Cent bears the hallmark of Philadelphia silversmith, George K. Wise. Evidenced by city directories, Wise was active between 1842-63 at various addresses; sometimes, in partnership with other silversmiths. What it lacks in beauty, it historically speaks to the times, what I fondly refer to as the "golden age of counterstamping," 1840-50's.    This counterstamp was unknown to authors Brunk and Rulau. Thanks to modern directory listings of early silversmiths, I was easily able to attribute this mark. To my knowledge, no others have yet been recorded anywhere. While many counterstamped coins circulated as a means of promoting word-of-mouth advertising, this coin's central hole suggests that Mr. Wise used this coin as a tag or label. Perhaps, he tacked it to his tool kit or carried it as a personal card to share with fellow masons? Many counterstamp mysteries often go unsolved ....  Edited by ExoGuy
09/26/2019 11:28 am
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Pillar of the Community
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1101 Posts |
ExoGuy, very interesting story on that counterstamp. It isn't an area I collect, but I appreciate how fascinating the study of them would be. I expect it takes a lot of research.
Congrats on finding an unlisted one. That must have been exciting to find!
What is in the small square stamp at the bottom?
Edited by Phil310
09/26/2019 11:36 am
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Moderator
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Quote:
What is in the small square stamp at the bottom? Yes exactly my question. I think it must be his hallmark, but I can't make out any specific design. "If you climb a good tree, you get a push."
-----Ghanaian proverb
"The danger we all now face is distinguishing between what is authentic and what is performed."
-----King Adz
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Pillar of the Community
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4421 Posts |
@Phil .... Yes, research, then following clues to solve the mysteries that counterstamps present is great fun for me. I've been able to positively attribute many hundreds of c/s's over the years; this, thanks to the internet! Prior to that time, I made countless trips to libraries, sometimes spending as long as a week in some cities. I don't miss "playing" with all that microfilm, but it often proved fruitful! I've often referred to counterstamps as the "final frontier" of numismatics. There remain ever so many unsolved mysteries in this genre. To my experience, some of the most puzzling counterstamps tend to appear on Half Cents. I'll be posting a few of them here. @Spence .... Great question! I was wondering if someone would ask. The small square is a silversmith's touchmark. These typically consisted of a pictorial, like an eagle, an animal, a star, a letter of the alphabet, etc. Sometimes these conveyed meaning, sometimes not. Some smiths simply applied these as "pseudo-marks" in order to give the impression of the seemingly finer, European silver. This particular touchmark is blurred to the point of being unrecognizable, so I didn't include a close-up pic of it. Edited by ExoGuy
09/26/2019 12:27 pm
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Pillar of the Community
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My only one....   |
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Only this '35 Half Cent for me today (PCGS XF45):   "If you climb a good tree, you get a push."
-----Ghanaian proverb
"The danger we all now face is distinguishing between what is authentic and what is performed."
-----King Adz
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Pillar of the Community
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5825 Posts |
1835 C-1    There is also a C-2 variety which I'm looking for. As for the 1836 dated coin, I don't have one nor will I ever. It's a Proof-only issue and I don't collect proofs. (Okay, there is one exception; I have the proofs for my birth year set.) And the 1837 dated "coin" was NOT a Mint issue. It's a private issue token and is Red Book listed. I like it and am in the market for one.
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Bedrock of the Community
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Belated kudos to AcesKings for that beautiful 1834.
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Pillar of the Community
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Pillar of the Community
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Here is my 1835 .......   |
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Pillar of the Community
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1835   Member ANA and EAC "You got to lose to know how to win". Dream On by Aerosmith |
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Posted 09/26/2019 09:43 am
