Identifying Significance Of Counterstamped Coins

Talk about the right person wandering into the thread.

Sorry to disagree, Pistareen, but I believe that you're way off base on the J. HICKS piece.

The first thing I'll note is that the letters actually spell out CAST STEEL. It's a phrase that was commonly used by metal workers on their products. The letters in CAST STEEL appear to match in size and style the letters in J. HICKS, so I'd venture to say that Hicks was a metal worker, a smith or toolmaker. Also, the stamps were carefully centered on both sides, and this positioning leads me to suspect that this piece likely had some purpose, if only for advertising.

In checking my Brunk book (2003), there are two J. HICKS pieces listed on large cents, assigned Brunk # H-548. The fact that a few other specimens exist supports the supposition about their having some purpose, like advertising. The latest dated piece is 1831, so these were stamped sometime thereafter; most likely, in the 1850's, the heyday of counterstamping. Keep in mind that more specimens may have surfaced since 2003 and have yet to be recorded by Brunk.

The OP's piece helps narrow the field of attribution for J. HICKS; this, given that accompanying CAST STEEL stamp. Perhaps, another example will someday surface with the stamp of a town or a street address to help pinpoint the location of Hicks. The initial "J" is perhaps the most commonly seen initial as there are ever so many names which it precedes. One thing that is interesting to me is the lack of a middle initial. To my experience, there are more counterstamps having two initials and/or a middle initial. So, this missing letter can actually help narrow the field. Yet, Hicks is a relatively common name. All in all, this could be a tough piece to attribute with some degree of certainty, unless the stamps can be found on a product, like a tool or firearm.

The second counterstamp, JE. M is unusual. Brunk does not list this one. Unlisted pieces are not necessarily rare, as many who are unfamiliar with counterstamps tend to assume. They simply have yet to be recorded in the census. The JE. could stand for Jeremiah, Jehu or any number of names beginning wit those letters. Abbreviations are not common among counterstamp issues; to my experience, being seldom used. As with the J. HICKS counterstamp, even more information is needed to attribute this maverick.