1979 US Penny Idaho Stamp

Common novelty item, available for all 50 states. No added value.



to the CCF!

@andi, first welcome to CCF. Second, no added value but still a fun find. We do see various states posted on occasion.

Thanks for your answers, I was more curious about how the stamps started and why

The counterstamped cent, while considered a novelty by some, is actually an altered U.S. Mint product. To most coin collectors, the counterstamp adds no value above the coin's face value however some bring in a few dollars or more on places like ebay such as when they have documentation or from an event - created as special souvenirs or marketing items in the past, rather than someone just metal stamping a countermark or design onto a coin by hand to make some potential money as most often is the case on the modern examples. Novelty companies have issued complete sets of Lincoln cents, counterstamped with the outlines of each of the 50 states, with the postal abbreviations appearing within in order to generate a profit.

This article mentions some of the early history of the non novelty kind of counterstamped coins to answer your question https://coins.thefuntimesguide.com/...tamped-coin/

A few threads with many counterstamps collected:

http://goccf.com/t/303507
http://goccf.com/t/126486