INTERESTING CIVIL WAR COUNTERMARK ON AN 1860-O HALF DOLLAR

HERE'S AN INTERESTING COIN WITH A COUNTERMARK OF A UNION SOLDIER. HIS NAME WAS ORAN MALLETT AND HE WAS WITH THE 186TH OHIO VOLUNTARY INFANTRY. AS YOU CAN SEE IT'S A NICE ORIGINAL HIGH GRADE COIN TO BOOT. I FIGURED SOMEBODY MIGHT LIKE TO SEE IT.

 

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Shame they had to butcher it up like this....

 

I don't consider it butchered at all , after all it was a nothing coin when he put his name and Infantry Division on it thus making it a piece of history worth more than the actual coin to me .

 

It was his dog tag, many soldiers carried or wore coins inscribed with their names ,company , and state. I've seen a lot of these at coin shows and they hold a nice premium .
Nice find.

 

Has anyone looked up Oran to see if he survived the war and what became of him?

The 186th was only organized in February 1865 and spent most of it's time in Tennessee.

 

He survived! Company G.

http://www.civilwarindex.com/armyoh/rosters/186th_oh_infantry_roster.pdf

 

That link goes nowhere. (404)

Maybe there are descendants that might like to have that nice piece of family history?

 

link should work now

 

Not butchered at all. Rather than just a coin, it now has some nice history to it.

 

It might not have value on its own, but with that roster . . .

 

It looks like Oran/Orrin's birthday is coming up:

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=36530618

 

Neat. Without the inscription, the coin probably wouldn't exist today. It likely would have been lost or worn slick and melted.

 

Very cool. I'd love to have a coin like that. I'm an active duty infantryman from ohio so it's very cool to me.

 

@kazuma78 What part of Ohio? (I'm also from Ohio)

 

I grew up around Marion, but my wife's family is from around the Toledo area

 

We live in Medina, near Akron.

 

Yeah I know where that is. A nice part of ohio

 

Nice piece

 

@BRandM

 

Thanks, KoinJester, I didn't see the thread.

That's a really special coin, Michael. If it's a legitimate Civil War dog tag...and it seems to be...then it has some good value to it. It looks counterstamped as opposed to being engraved. Either way, coins used as dog tags are exceedingly rare. Nearly all the ones you see are on struck brass tokens and adorned with patriotic themes or the bust of a famous general or politician. Generally, the soldiers name, home town, state, and military unit he served with are included in the inscriptions. Some of these were made by the regimental sutlers that traveled with the army, while others were bought through the mail.

The only potential problem I see with yours is proving that Mallett actually carried the piece while on active duty with his unit. There's a possibility that he had it made after he mustered out, which would make it a memento rather than a dog tag. Yours has no hole so it could be worn around his neck or on his person somewhere. He certainly could have carried it in his pocket, so wouldn't need to hole the coin. If it were holed though, the condition of the hole might give a clue as to it's use. Yes, collectors do look at these small clues when evaluating the legitimacy of a dog tag.

While dog tags produced from prepared blanks are often seen, and valuable in their own right, counterstamped or engraved tags on coins are almost never seen. Honestly, I know of less than half a dozen legitimate pieces, one I'm lucky enough to have in my own collection. If I can find a picture of it, I'll post it here.

Again, a great piece of history. Thanks for sharing it with us.

Bruce