William W. Pettee of Foxboro, MA may have issued your counterstamp early in the 1800's. There are seven documented examples of his stamp known...yours is the eighth. There are three different captions on these issues and include "W.W. Pettee", "(Eagle)/W.W. Pettee" and "W.W. Pettee Cast Steel 1841." As you can see yours has no "1841" date stamped on it so, again, is a previously unknown example. I personally don't believe the stamps were issued by the Foxboro man who was a turner (a lathe operator) by trade. A gunsmith would be a better guess as they often stamped dates on their weapons to indicate a model year and small federal eagle stamps also commonly appeared on their weapons. I don't know offhand of an American gunsmith with that surname but I never researched this mark. Your counterstamp is very old...probably issued no later than the mid 1840's, but more likely in the 1830's. Thought he coin is heavily worn (generally not a great concern to counterstamp collectors) the stamp is clear and is what I would consider a classic early American issue. Just a guess, but I think its value would be in the 75 to $100 range. More if it could be attributed. Very nice piece. Thanks for posting it. Bruce
Thanks so much for the information! Do you think it could be the same W. W. Pettee who patented the Presser Foot for the sewing macine? http://www.google.com/patents?id=Vb...selected_pages&cad=1#v=onepage&q=coin&f=false Thank You
That's the same W.W.Pettee who was listed as a turner in the 1850 U.S. Census as far as I can tell. He was born in 1808 so it's possible that he stamped these coins. His family was engaged in the textile business as, apparently, was he. I have been doing a little research on Pettee (BTW, his first name is William) but haven't come up with much yet. The more I see the stamp and the other one of his that I've seen, I keep coming back to a gunsmith, lockmaker, or something similar. It could be him though or someone in his family. I'll keep looking and let you know what I find. Bruce
It wouldn't have anything to do with W.W. Pattee HCF, at least directly. Saco-Pettee wasn't in business until 1897, a long time after your coin was counterstamped. The whole succession of companies leading up to the formation of Saco-Pattee began in 1831 when Otis Pattee established a textile mill in Newton Upper Falls, MA. By 1882 it had been reorganized as the Pettee Machine Works by Henry Billings. I did some research on Otis Pattee and found no indication that he had any relatives named William. Granted, there doesn't seem to be much information out there in regard to the Pettee family, but what I found didn't help establish who stamped your coin. I still feel as though the whole textile industry thing is the wrong place to look for the issuer. The "Cast Steel" and ornaments on other known examples lead me to believe it was issued by a gunsmith, tool manufacturer, metal founder, or a similar craftsman. Bruce
