I couldn't find anything about this one. Might anyone know or share your opinion? I got it today for $10.
Unlisted C-B-D and very unusual...nothing I've seen before. In rare instances you'll see fractions counterstamped on coins in regard to revaluation or weight but that doesn't seem to be the case here. There's a slight chance the caption is a representation of the word "behalf". Although not strictly a rebus...pictures that replace words...it might be considered a form of one. Unusual and interesting. Bruce
I'm going to guess that it stands for 1/2 Bolivar (Venesuala) or 1/2 Bolivanio (Bolivia). Probably Bolivia. Their system at the time was 100 centavos to the Bolivanio. The 50 Centavo or 1/2 Bolivanio was a silver coin 900 fine that weighed 11.5 grams, close to that of the US Half dollar. It comes close to the end of the period when all the silver coins were still being exported to Canada or South America. It just fits, and there are also tokens from that era that use the B 1/4 or B 1/2 for the denomination.
BTW - I assume that if this theory can be reasonably verified, then the value of the coin would increase dramatically. I imagine that that a c/stamp to value a US coin in foreign currency would be quite desirable. It would definitely be worth the effort to research it…
It definitely would increase the value, so yes, researching it would be worth the effort. Two questions that come to mind though, the "B1/2" is a fairly large stamp. Would the size be consistent with an official stamp that may have been used by either government, and are there any evaluations known that are actually counterstamped on either coins or tokens. I don't know the answer to either question but maybe Conder does. Bruce
The fact that the stamp is in the field would make this much more desirable IMO. A stamp on the design element is a much lesser attractive example.
I agree kookoo but many times stamps are struck over design elements out of necessity. Obviously the size of the stamp and the host coin can dictate where the stamp is placed. Political counterstamps are often struck over the portrait of a king or queen or the symbol of a country for visual impact. A good example would be the Irish Republican Army stamps of recent years. The IRA always stamped English coins by defacing the king or queen with their initials or with phrases or symbols. Bruce
This is very interesting indeed. One frequently comes across ancient coins that were countermarked to re-tariff them, either because an invading civilization had acquired the coins, or because they had been exported out of their circulating jurisdiction. I didn't realize the same thing had occurred as recently as the 19th century.
Actually it can be found (or at least something similar) in the 20th century as well. Good example is the counterstamp coinage of Costa Rica from 1923 were they counterstamped their older coinage with 1923 and the new denomination doubling the face values.
