An 1854 Quarter, A Wealthy Slave Owner, A Spurned Suitor & Murder Most Foul

Another fascinating account! I always enjoy your posts about counter stamped coins.

This one is pretty close to home. I've been to Wytheville often.

Very interesting history. Since he died a year after the coin was minted, it must have been carried for many years afterwards. It must have been a deep counterstamp for it to show so boldly after so much wear.

Hi, Yokozuma. I'm happy to see that you and other members continue to enjoy these counterstamp postings.




Brunk listed the C. Orth c/s's as # O-116 in his 2003 catalog. They were unattributed therein. Brunk recorded about 19 specimens at that time. I suspect there could be three dozen or more out there. I have seven, all large cents in my collection. The latest dated C. Orth coin I've seen is from 1856. So, these Orth coins were likely stamped in the decade preceding the Civil War.

Considering the small size of this stamp, in conjunction with the upper/lower case, slanted letters, Orth was probably a jeweler and/or watchmaker. The most likely issuer I've found is Charles Orth of Hoboken, NJ. He's listed in the 1859 Hoboken City Directory as a "watchcase maker." After that, he was listed as a jeweler till 1877; this, with no address given. Finding a "watchcase" bearing this c/s would help solidify this tentative attribution.

Here's a pic of his c/s ....

History behind coinage has always fascinated me. Even the odd, and tragic, stories such as this. Thanks for sharing!

@MrPink2018 .... I rarely go that far in my research. I did dig a bit deeper into the details on this story, as regards the perpetrator; this, as my career was in criminal justice. I wanted to know how the assassin's sentence played out. I learned that some of his pencil artwork survives.

I suppose, if one wanted to, this story would make a great screenplay.

A very interesting story. Thank you for sharing.

Great $1, John! C/s's on Bust dollars are not rarely seen by most collectors. I've but one stamped Bust dollar, a 1799, among 2,700 other pieces. I've yet to precisely determine who punched that buck!

I've long wondered, other than some coins, what else Spiller may have stamped. Perhaps, there are other of his stamped possessions out there? His holed quarter was obviously used as a tag of sorts. I read that Spiller had 19 slaves which suggests he ran a plantation. Perhaps, he stamped/branded tools and other valued possessions?