BRandM Bruce: Sorry I couldn't find your 'Post your Counterstamps Thread'. counterstamped JH R on the obverse and Jy. 9th 1850 21 yrs on the reverse Also, I can't wait to get it, the y (in the quoted Jy) looks more like a dot to me. But, we'll see. used as a watch fob it is holed at the bottom ??? Questionable statement
Interesting, Frank. An unusual mix of counterstamping and engraving with a small chisel or something else. It's hard to tell what the date means, but seems to be a 21 st birthday celebration. Could be a wedding anniversary too. Whatever it is, congratulations, JHR! Let us know when you get it, Frank. Bruce
Could be a memorial of some sort, too. Typical gravestones of that time period cite the age of the deceased, so this could be in remembrance of someone who died Jan/July 9, 1850, aged 21 years.
I love Bust halves but counterstamps drive me nuts. I had an 1804 large cent with a counterstamp and all I could think of was how nice that coin would have been without that blasted stamping. I thought exactly the same thing when I saw this coin. There is a beauty underneath that stamp. I know some people really like them, love the history, etc. but I just like the coins.
I understand how you feel, bearze, but you have to remember that when the stamp was struck many years ago it was just a coin to be spent. Other than that it didn't mean anything to the maker. The equivalent today would be if we counterstamped a Quarter with a mintage of a "bazillion" It's just a Quarter. If someone stamped your 1804 today even I would be upset ...and I collect counterstamps. Bruce
What Bruce said. I fully agreed. If done today, it is nothing more than damage. Contemporary C/S's are history
Nice frank. I am thinking in 1850 someone turned 21 and this was to celebrate that day. Just my imagination at work.
I am with messydeck on this one. I worked in a cemetery during summer breaks while in college. We had lots of old stones and giving the age of the deceased was standard on ones from a certain era. Also, age 21 did not mean then what it means now. Back then, 21 was almost middle-aged based on lower life expectancies. I do not know if there was a drinking age back then (I doubt there was) but it must have been lower than 21..... It would be a long shot but I wonder if you could do any research based on the intials and the date (speculating that it was a death date).
