I just don't like them. I don't like chopmarked trade dollars either. They simply detract from the eye appeal...to me at least. Other people collect and even covet them, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that....just not for me. Do you like them? Why?
They are kind of like the error market, I don't errors should be worth that much more, but they are in some cases. Personally, I don't think after mint marks of various kinds do anything for aesthetic appeal, but they do add mystery based on why or how they happened.
Most random counterstamps are of no interest to me and I do consider them to be damage. Other counterstamps that had a specific purpose I view more favorably. The L and E counterstamps on the 1815 and 1825 bust quarters DID have a purpose, we just don't know for sure yet, and may never know, what that purpose was. And yes I do like them.
HOpefully it won't affect the grade. PCGS said they logged it in and it was 1825/4 not /3 like the dealer I bought it from said. Should be graded soon, it is going express.
When it gets back double check the attribution. To date ALL known E and L counterstamped 1825 quarters have been the 25/3 variety. If you have a genuine counterstamp on a 25/4 you have a unique piece.
Thanks, it could be they logged it in differently than I wrote on the sheet, plus I included the dealer info on the coin, not that they give a hoot. Unfortunately, PCGS does not allow process info. for the submitters. At least at NGC you can call customer service and get an update on where it is, also on their site. When I click on active submissions it doesn't even have what was submitted, you have to call.
News...... Grade is as follows: [TABLE="class: datagrid"] [TR="class: rowone"] 38973 1825/4/(2) 25C USA XF40 [/TR] [/TABLE]
Is that substantiated--it is an "L" and also a 25/4/(2)? It looks like PCGS' price guide is too optimistic, way over $4000 in XF. Harry Laibstein has one in AU CAC for under $3K, but not an L.
They gave it a "Browning 3" for rarity. The John Reich society is the expert on Bust halves and quarters, I am hoping to get more info. from them. VarietyPlus » Draped Bust & Capped Bust Quarters (1796-1838) » 1825/4 "L" STAMP 25C B-3 [h=1]1825/4 "L" STAMP 25C B-3[/h] Variety Diagnostics The letter L was punched above Liberty's head. Comments The where, when and by whom of this punching has been lost, but these counterstamped coins have been known since the 19th Century and are popularly collected. I found the following at PCGS' site: Ron Guth: Recent research by students of the Capped Bust Quarter series discovered that all 1825 Quarter Dollars are struck from 1825/4/2 Quarter Dollars. Thus, what were previously considered as 1825/3 and 1825/4/(2) Quarter Dollars are now all 1825/4/2, regardless of how clear the overdate is. Three die marriages comprise the entire mintage for this year: Browning 1 - Rare Browning 2 - Fairly Common Browning 3 - Scarce Sources and/or recommended reading: Rory Rea et al, Early Quarter Dollars of the United States Mint: 1796-1838 (Rory Rea: 2011), 184-198
OK I was unaware they had changed the 25/3 designation to a second 25/4/2 die. There is still a problem. The same book that the PCGS site references, which is the latest standard reference for the series, still says that all the counterstamps are on the B-2 variety (Which used to be the 25/3 variety) not on the B-3 variety which it seems they are calling your coin. So I would still like confirmation of the variety of your coin.
I got a result on the "L" counterstamped Bust quarter mentioned earlier; PCGS apparently will not give those numerical grades, but "98" them all, which this one earned. Also, they designated it as the 1825/4/(2) not the 1825/3. So either the "L" on the coin is not one of the ones put on it by the PA religious sect that did that to 1815 and 1825 quarters or PCGS got the variety wrong (unlikely), or some other explanation. This is what Heritage says on these counterstamps: 1815 25C E Countermark MS66 NGC. B-1, R.1. Numerous theories have been proposed concerning the enigmatic E and L counterstamped Bust quarters, which began to appear in numismatic circles in the second half of the 19th century. Current speculation is that the Economite religious community in Pennsylvania counterstruck these pieces as a voting measure. The E and L counterstamps represented rival factions within the Economites. This is a remarkable example of the E counterstamp. Ocean-blue and orange toning graces lustrous and sharply struck surfaces. Void of any relevant marks, and encapsulated in a prior generation NGC holder. Census: 5 in 66, 1 finer (10/06).(Registry values: P3) (#5321) http://coins.ha.com/c/item.zx?saleNo=422&lotNo=905 Another concern: both PCGS and NGC recognize the chopmarked Trade dollars and give them numerical grades. Here NGC grades them but PCGS does not. In my case since no one warned me that PCGS would not give it a numerical grade, I sent it there. For others who come across these coins NGC is probably the way to go.
Don't count on that. I NEVER trust the variety designations given by PCGS or NGC until I have verified them. They get them wrong way too often. Especially PCGS.
In this case PCGS called the coin "Browning 2" and NGC "Browning 3". Here is the coin's certification: http://www.ngccoin.com/certlookup/CertResults.aspx?CertNumber=3515485-001 Image is available online. As to theories on the reason for the "E" and "L" counter-stamps or source, I like the "Economite" theory rather than Breen's theory that the quarters were stamped as part of a school prize since we would see examples of other coins stamped for similar reasons. I heard that Q. David Bowers (recently elected mayor of his hometown in NH) has quite a collection of counterstamped coins, no doubt the authority on the issue.
Thanks for the images from NGC. In this case it is NGC that got the attribution wrong, the coin is a B-2 which is the variety all the counterstamps come on.
Hi Conder--are you saying that based on the images or on the pre-suppostion that is "common knowledge" that all "L" stamped coins are B-2? NGC graded another "L" stamped coin AU-58 (only one by the way in any grade, no grades don't get counted in pop. figures). I am not expert so I am relying on the knowledge of others here. I thought NGC had a better research department than PCGS....
Based on the images. The obv is obv 2 used on B-2 and B-3. Star 13 points into the center mass of the bottom curl. On obv 1 it points at the upper edge of the curl. Rev is rev U, only used on B-2. Key is the I in PLURIBUS. On Rev U it is below the left edge of the upright of the T above. On B-3 rev V it is almost centered between the AT. So obv 2 rev U that's B-2.
Thanks. This was one I sold recently--is this the B-3 then? http://www.greatcollections.com/Coin/40657/182542-Capped-Bust-Quarter-Browning-3-PCGS-XF-40
Yes, that's a B-3. Blow up the rev picture and look at the position of the I. It's centered between the A and T.
