I've come across a couple of jetons in the past few years that have different countermarks on them. Unfortunately, i've not been able to find the significance of any of the c/m's so far. :-( Another one has just arrived with me and yet again i'm stuck. It has a small open hand (palm facing) stamped on either side and that is exactly my sum total knowledge of the c/m. It's a french jeton roughly 27 -28mm diameter, but it could be that the c/m is Dutch /Flemish or perhaps even french colonial. Anyone got any ideas?
Well there is this guy that used to hang out at the Coin World forum. And he goes around intentionaly counter-marking coins and then turning them loose into circulation again just to mess with people's heads. I'd say it was probably him !! I've seen that mark before Ian, not sure in what book or where but I've seen it. Gimme some time and maybe I can find it again.
It looks like the `Hand of Ulster' and may indeed be linked some way to William of Orange, Louis XIV's main protagonist in Europe. For some reason the mark reminded me of something I had read somewhere concerning Maastricht....but what book and in relation to what remains in a corner of my disintegrating mind somewhere `over there'. Any and all help appreciated.........including shooting that joker from the Coin World Forum!
I like his style. I worked on a few Belgian 20 cent coins this week – now the king is smoking a cigarette, complete with colorized cigarette and a smoke plume rising from the tip. Counterstamping can be fun. And yes kids…you CAN try this at home. It’s legal (at least in the US), and might give someone a chuckle thousands of miles away and/or decades in the future. As soon as I can get a Dremel tool I plan to take a few Ike dollars and change the portrait into Homer Simpson (the design is already half way there as is).
