Because I'm, well, me, I had to go off and Google "OIL OF ICE" to figure out just what it could possibly have been. I guessed maybe something with menthol, but others seem to think it contained camphor: https://www.coincommunity.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=409791
Here’s the camphor tree from the front yard of my Florida place. An arborist said it was the largest in Florida. It came down 2 years ago but another grows in the backyard. The robins flock the neighborhood when the berries ripen in February And a coin to keep it legit
Bruce, Those counterstamped Sacagawea dollars were created by Ron Landis of Gallery Mint Museum in Arkansas. Around 1998, both Landis and Daniel Carr were submitting designs to the Mint for consideration for the small golden dollars to be issued. At the time, Ron Landis had GMM fully up and running creating all sorts of early American coin reproductions. The Ephraim Brashers hallmark EB stamp was being used on his Brasher Doubloons. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brasher_Doubloon Ron subsequently created the RL stamp to mimic the Ephraim Brasher hallmark stamp used on the doubloons. As Ron was also actively involved in the Golden Dollar design competition, he decided to commemorate a few of the new Glenna Goodacre designed Sacagawea Dollars with the EB and RL stamps when they were released. Below are certificates with the numbers created. The pair above is set #3. Z
I had a feeling these were GMM issues. Ron Landis' work is always excellent and very distinctive. I'm just surprised that I've never come across any of them. Did you buy theses directly from GMM or were they aftermarket offerings, Z? I'd love to have a listing of everything he's created and maybe hunt down a few for my collection. There's some really good stuff out there from private mints, and not only GMM. I have some of Joe Rust's issues...not counterstamps...but interesting in their own right. It's a shame that he passed away before his time. A very talented man. Thanks for all the good info, Gary. Much appreciated. Bruce
@BRandM , I got those aftermarket from an esteemed yet reclusive member of this forum. He knew the kind of stuff that I look for and offered a few things to me. I couldn't say no. But then again, I actively search out this kind of stuff across many corners of the interwebs. Here is a really nice Ron Landis counterstamp that is much more difficult to find than his Western Reserve work. Of course I have a bunch of those as well. There is a really sad story to this one . . . . . . Z
I would love to see other examples of the Arkansas Numismatic Society piece. I "bought" another stamped over a 1948 silver ANS medal but the seller packaged it poorly, handwrote the address with an illegible ZipCode, and the envelope spent weeks traveling between California and Georgia. By the time I got the package, it was shredded and empty. Here is what I was supposed to have received. It would have been a nice bookend to the one above. I've looked for another for two years but haven't seen a single example. Z
Just saw one of these up on fleaBay. I already have a couple and thought it might be of interest to someone. I won't be in competition for this one. https://www.ebay.com/itm/3253445512...aDh7rcfSJW&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY Z Same as the one listed. No relation to the seller.