I just picked up this 1838 Large Cent that has three counterstamps on it. After doing a bit of research I couldn't find a connection, so they were probably all struck at different times by unrelated issuers. The "W.J. Scott" stamp is attributed to an Albany, NY gunsmith who was in business from 1842 until about 1870. William J. Scott and his brother Robert H. were in business together not only as gunsmiths but also as merchants who sold baseball, firefighting, and theatrical equipment, as well as sporting goods and military articles. It was thought that William probably passed away about 1870 because he disappeared from city directories about that time. However, I traced him in Albany up until about 1910 through federal census records. Apparently, he withdrew from the gunsmith business with his brother and concentrated on the sale of sporting goods. I couldn't trace anyone named T.H. Betz who may have worked with Scott in the business so I believe he was another local merchant who decided to add his name to Scott's advertising piece. The heavily worn "WA" stamp (see closeup) was also untraceable, but was obviously added long before Scott or Betz stamped their names on the coin. "WA" was obviously the first counterstamper evidenced by the wear to his stamp. It was probably put on the coin about 1840 or so, whereas the other two probably date from the 1850's. There are about ten examples of Scott's counterstamp documented, all on Large Cents. My example is the first on an 1838 coin. There's also one example of his stamp that includes the word "Albany" added below "W.J. Scott". I though it was an interesting piece because of the multiple stamps on it and wanted to post it for you to see. Thanks for looking, and as always, comments are welcome. Bruce
A most unusual piece indeed. I find it odd that a merchant would stamp another merchant's advertising coin and leave the original stamp. That would just confuse people ad undermine the purpose of the C/S in the first place.
Maybe not, after all do you see newspapers or magazines with just one ad in them? How about something like coin world where there are a great many ads all for merchants who are in the same business.
It's not unheard of that rival merchants or even unrelated ones stamped each others coins, but generally there is a connection...friendship, family, or business. The trick is to find that connection. I would be willing to bet there is one between Scott and Betz, I just haven't found it yet. Betz doesn't appear to be a gunsmith but may have had some connection to Scott's other interests. A search of Albany directories or city histories might tell us who Betz is, but so far I haven't had the chance to really look into it in any detail. The good thing is, neither one is going anywhere. The other interesting thing about this counterstamped coin is the old original "WA" stamp. It definitely predates the other two, but is nearly impossible to attribute. There are a few initial stamps like this in Brunk, but they're not the same style. Thanks for your comments guys. Bruce
