Has anyone seen one of these before? I found one from a huge pile of cents and it's the only one. I've rifled through the whole internet but found nothing. Bugs seems not to be carved there afterwards. I guess it would show the zinc under the copper if it was milled. If anyone knows about this coin I'd really appreciate some background information. What was it made for? Is it rare? http://personal.inet.fi/surf/boobol/bunny.jpg
Bone - you really should put the smiley in that kind of post. I'll buy the theory that an infinite number of monkeys playing with typewriters for an infinite amount of time could produce the entire works of Shakespear, but I won't buy the theory that any conceivable die clash could produce that atrocity. BTW to CoinTalk Silli. When I saw your post title I thought maybe you were talking about the Bugs Bunny postage stamp of several years ago, but 9roswell and Dockwalliper's answers hit the nail on the head. Putting an incuse stamp into a coin is called "countermarking", and it has been practiced for centuries. In fact, there are many world coins which were officially countermarked by governments, often to convert foreign currency for domestic use, to change the value of coins after a monetary devalutation, or even to signify that the coins have been demonetized and are to be treated strictly as bullion.
Usually by making a die and then placing the coin on a table or workbench, resting the die againt it, and then striking the die with a hammer. Often a piece of leather will be placed under the coin to prevent damage to the other side.
what is the die made of, and how is it made? Something you could do at home, or would you need some type of a machine shop? One of my favorite coins I have is the fourth coin of my bicentennial set. Its a 1976 penny with the liberty bell counterstamped on the obverse. I thought that would be pretty neat to do to a bunch of coins, it you figure out how.
just google "steel hand stamp" to find a list of companies that would make you a custom stamp for this purpose.
