1848 Braided Hair Large Cent Countermark J.G looking for any information??

Hello Forum,

I am an avid metal detectorist and was lucky enough to dig this beauty at a colonial site on the north shore of Massachusetts. Usually the elements in the East are quite harsh on copper coins here, but this coin was in sandy soil and on a slope so it never sat in water, and it cleaned up great.

It has a countermark of J. G and I don't think any period follows the G .

Any information on origin of countermark and value would be greatly appreciated. I have done my own internet search but found no info. I was told the experts on CoinTalk would be a great resource.

Sincerely,

RCPTUNA

 

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Welcome to c/t Rcptuna, glad you came aboard.
This counterstamp of yours is a very close match to a series of "JG" stamps listed in Greg Brunk's reference on the subject. He has documented three varieties, but feels they were all stamped by the same unknown person or family. There are 8 examples of "J.G." (with periods) known, 3 on Large Cents, 3 on small cents, 1 on a nickel, and a last one on a Spanish silver coin. There are also 4 examples of "J.G." (with periods in a sawtooth rectangle) all on Large Cents, and 11 examples of "J.G JR" (smaller size "R" underlined, no period after "G"), 10 on Large Cents, and an 11th struck on a Hard Times Token.

These are interesting pieces, but probably can't be attributed to any particular issuer. Initials-only stamps are notoriously difficult to attribute for obvious reasons. It would take the discovery of an old advertisement or something similar that matches this style exactly to be of any help. Your stamp is nearly a perfect match to what Brunk designates G-13, the first variety discussed above. More than likely it is related, and probably should be considered a fourth variety. If you could post clearer pictures, I could look into it further.

Generally, unattributed counterstamps don't command a large premium, but I think this one might sell for $30-$50. If it can be attributed, it would probably be worth $100 or more, depending on who the maker was. This is a great find Rcp, congratulations.

 

Thanks BRandM

Thanks BRandM for providing such an articulate and thorough response. I will try to provide you with clearer pics of the Large Cent very soon. I do wish to pursue my research... truly until I hit a dead end. My friends call me history detective and I wish to live up to my name. Is there any information available on the demographics of where the other known J. G. counterstamps turned up? i.e. New England or eastern United States? I can clearly see how just initials will leave a very gray area to obtain an exact match.

Thanks again, you made my night.

RCPTUNA

 

i dont know anything about counterstamps but i would grade it VG-8 NET G-4.

 

I'm like you Rcptuna, I love the challenge of researching things that interest me, and for the past ten years or so have been heavily involved in investigating maverick counterstamps. I never give up on one I think can be attributed. I've got some pieces in my files that I've been looking into for 5 or 6 years.

There's nothing known about these other pieces from what I can tell, but a few assumptions can be made that will at least give you a place to start your research. You said you found yours in Massachusetts, so whoever stamped this coin is probably from whatever area of the state you found it in, or at least close by. Generally in those days coins circulated locally more so than regionally or nationally as they do today. There's no question in my mind that this piece is from an eastern city, likely in New England, and probably from Massachusetts. Just for my info, where exactly did you find the coin?

I look forward to seeing some more pictures. In the meantime, gook luck!

 

Thanks Lugia.

Thanks Lugia, I was wondering what the grade might be. You have to admit not bad for a Large Copper that was buried for most likely 160+ years in harsh New England elements.

RCPTUNA

 

yea its a great detector find. i bought a detector but the best things i got was some silver ring and a few wheat cents. nothing much happened in wisconsin to make it a decent state for finding things.

 

BRandM looks like countermarks are a real passion for you. I am in the process of borrowing a camera with 10mp compared to my 3mp dinosaur...should help the picture quality. The coin was found in Andover, Mass. I looked through some history books last night with no initial match. Hoping to obtain a period map soon.

 

The 10mp camera should make a big difference. I'm looking forward to seeing the new pics

One of the best sources of info I've found is old city directories, but a lot of the smaller cities didn't publish them. Most of the larger cities did, and some are on line for free. Most all of them are available at subscriber sites, but then you have to shell out some cash to have access to them. You might want to check out county directories or even state listings on Google / Books,. There's a lot of good info on there, and it doesn't cost anything. I subscribe to a lot of pay sites because I use them constantly, so I can look into Boston directories for you and see if anything interesting shows up. I've actually tracked down a few initials-only mavericks, but it's a very tedious process...and you have to get lucky.

Bruce