Counter Stamp Collectors What's Your Favorite Counter Stamp?

here's my only counter stamped, mexican 1/8 real, found in a bulk ebay lot (i figure it cost me less than 25 cents)

Za counter stamp is common, the 1/8 not so much. having BOTH on the same coin is hard to come by.

even though the coin is so badly worn that you can barely make out the features I was offered $50 (turned down)

I have a number of Counterstamped Maria Thersia Thalers in my collection ( no Hejaz or nejed as I avoid the likely spurious issues). My favorite is a second world war souvenir. I purchased it on Ebay(US), the known provenance is that the Base coin was taken off a German POW by a British sergeant, who later traded the coin to a US soldier. The story seems very likely to be true. It is most likely the Brit Sgt counter-stamped the coin.To aid the counter stamping the coin was likely heated with a blow torch.

Why I like the coin: The counter stamp includes the date and the base coin is a 1937 - 41 Paris mint strike. Paris mint coins were most often supplied to Antonin Besse and Co based in Aden and then traded across east Africa and the middle east, therefore the coin could have easily have ended up in North Africa and then moved with the Brit Sgt to Aden. It is one of the few counter-stamped MTT from the first half of the 20th century where the story told, the base coin, and the counter-stamp are consistent with the dating.



Note 1: The low resolution of the photo doesn't allow the Paris mint identifiers to be seen.

Note 2: After getting this coin I used a blow torch on a low grade Pre-1946 NZ Florin (50% Silver) and at one point the same copper tones, as seen, on the photo above occurred. With more heating they disappeared. I suspect the coin is never going to be worth much but it tells a real story as opposed to the other counter-stamps that are seen on MTT and pull high prices.

scurry64, it looks plated.

If I had any counter stamped coins, I'd be able to post one for you. Still hunting!

Thanks for the cool photos though - these are super fun to look at.

Here's one I just got that's giving me fits. Any help is appreciated.

It's an 1825 5 Lira Sardinia counter stamped with what the seller says is the mark of Francis I of Austria (previously, Francis II of the Ho;y Roman Empire)
I haven't been able to confirm the counter mark or the value. Can you help? Many thanks.

Three Cent Feuchtwanger Low 118 Defiant Eagle with the JMP counterstamp. There are five known and this is possibly the finest. ex. Virgil Brand, Michael Brand Zeddis, Dice-Hicks Collection. No one knows "who" JMP was, the carefully crafted stamp has been seen nowhere else.

A personal connection, very nice!

Here's my favorite - okay, it's stamped currency, which is just the polite way of saying "banknotes" so as to not attract hordes of valueless fiat-ramblers. I hope this is allowed :O

This was a generous gift today, and it's not even Nowruz (Iranian New Year).

Nowrus takes place on the Spring Equinox, and is one of those very old holidays that's survived for thousands of years and several changes of state religion (like Christmas). Some say it was first practiced by Zoroaster, and has since accumulated a whole pile of traditions and customs. As described to me, these are low-value banknotes (there are 20,000 rials to the dollar, and coins exist up to 5,000 rials: with an inflation rate of 25%, the government has to be practical about discontinuing bills), chosen so that they could be given away with little financial strain. They are placed under a Qu'ran, specially blessed, then stamped and given to the children to decorate.




The first pair of 1,000 rial banknotes is a breath away from having a sequential serial number (1/4 890546 and 1/4 890548), which tells me that they were distributed from a large bundle, fresh from the federal bank, then improved with stickers (and now Khomeini is staring right at them). Unfortunately, I can't read the Farsi, but not for lack of trying. The second 2,000 rial banknote is very professionally stamped (over the window where the watermark normally appears) with the location (Halifax) and date (2009), which I assume is the same in both languages* (although the Iranian era is used for the Farsi inscription - 1388). My best guess is that this was done in a large community center (probably a mosque, but anything's possible) with stamps made specially for the occasion.

And now I have until March 21 to think of a way to return this gift...

* I now doubt this after a bit of fooling around with translation software