1857 "RUDOLPH" dime.

I really don't like this guy.


Why? WHY???

 

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Maybe you’ll find 3 more that read:
“THE”
“RED-NOSED”
and “REINDEER”

 

NOOOOOOOOO!!! Lol

 

Still a fun, cool old piece with lots of history.

 

Agreed, but it broke my heart when i saw it. I almost threw it out till i got a closer look. Whew.

 

Why did people do this? Especially to create a piece of jewelry? You would think that coins were hard enough to come by back then, let alone making a necklace or a ring out of one. BTW, isn't it illegal to purposely deface money?

 

This could've been done 150 years ago though people didn't care,just there ten cents.

 

The RUDOLPH c/s's are desired by exonumists and often fetch in the $50-100 range for decent examples. This is the first holed one I've seen; this, which does hurt the value a bit. The comment that this c/s'd coin has "lots of history" caught my eye. I have 11 of the RUDOLPH c/s's on dimes and quarters in my collection. I've been researching this issue for over fifteen years, and I'd love it if someone would share the history they know with me! ;-)

Here's basically what I know .... Rulau listed the RUDOLPH c/s's in his token catalogs. He attributed the issue to Nevada City, California. Brunk followed suit, listing same in his books on merchant counterstamps. J.F. Rudolph operated a drug store there. Their attribution to this druggist was based solely on two bits of circumstantial evidence: 1) J.F. ran store ads that used only his surname, "Rudolph," without initials; 2) Another druggist, Polhemus, working in Sacramento during the 1850's, stamped many coins (note that, unlike Rudolph, his initials and address appear on the coins).

During my early research, I learned that J.F.'s wife was a skilled photographer who had a gallery above the drug store on Commercial Street. The thought occurred to me that she might have used a RUDOLPH stamp on the frames of her daguerreotypes. While I found some of her photos, none were stamped.

I later found whom I believe is far more likely to have stamped the coins. It is Charles F. Rudolph, a jeweler, working in Wilmington, Delaware between 1856-1908. There exists substantial evidence that supports my belief. Consider: 1) Far more jewelers, those who dealt in silver, were known to stamp coins than were druggists in the 1850's; 2) I acquired a spoon stamped C.F. RUDOLPH that possesses a very similar font; 3) Many craftsmen, like jewelers, used more than one style of stamp; 4) The great majority of c/s's, well over 90%, emanated from eastern states; 5) While a few of the RUDOLPH c/s's possess an "O" mint mark, not one "S" mint coin has been reported (almost all of the known host coins are from Philly); 6) A few Delaware silversmiths c/s'd coins.

Sadly, Russ Rulau & Greg Brunk are no longer with us. I did share my research on C.F. Rudolph with Greg last year, and he found the evidence convincing; this, more so than for J.F. Rudolph. While neither J.F. or C.F. is a slam-dunk, positive attribution, C.F. appears to be an odds-on favorite. Personally, I and many other c/s collectors would prefer the RUDOLPH c/s's stay listed as a California issue.

While c/s's do often detract from the value of host coins, they can also add much value, historical and monetary, to coins. Consider that a c/s'd coin recently sold for over ten million dollars .... a Brasher doubloon. IMHO, our OP's holed silver dime, if unstamped, would be worth $3. The RUDOLPH c/s makes it a $25-$35 coin.

I look forward to hearing about the history of this RUDOLPH and other c/s's from our posters. I shared what I know with Bruce, some months ago. It's what keeps my old boat afloat! ;-)

 

Many merchants stamped coins to promote word-of-mouth advertising. There were many other reasons that coins were stamped, but advertising was a widespread fad back in the 1850's. Foreign coins were still widely circulating in the U.S. in the 1850's, and many of those were stamped. My avatar is a good example, being a 1700's Spanish two real piece that was stamped by Robert Flanagan. He ran a hotel and tavern in Philly during that era. His Flanagan's Punch goblet graces the coin.

No, it's never been illegal to stamp or otherwise deface U.S. currency, UNLESS the purpose in doing so is to commit fraud.

 

This is incredible! I'm thrilled i posted this. I wish i knew anything about it. I recently was given a small stash of coins of my grandfather's, nothing special, but this was mixed in with hundreds of dimes in the "dime" bag. He passed years before i even knew about his collection. Unfortunately, any history of this coin was lost long ago. Thank you so much for sharing though. I had no idea (obviously, lol).

 

hey CoinJockey73 great post and pictures. i knew the general stores in small places, maybe in and around coal mining areas had store tokens used by customers for merchandise. the tokens had the stores general info stamped on it but i haven't seen us coins stamped with a stores name on it before. very interesting story on this particular coin ExoMan, great job to the both of ya. good luck to yawl.......

 

Thank you @mike estes.

 

This c/s was a good find. Knowledge typically adds appreciation and value to artifacts. As regards these RUDOLPH c/s's their value is perceived by what I regard as a likely misattribution and catalog listings. I want PROOF that this c/s is from the California guy!

One man's junk can be another's treasure .... The true history of the RUDOLPH counterstamps has yet to be solved and related. Once again, I would be most pleased if those who know the history of this c/s would share and discuss same.




As you can see, above, NGC is slabbing these and claiming they're dated (1861). Only one, the latest listed date, of these c/s's is 1861. All others appear on coins from the 1850's. In effect, NGC has not only bought into the unproven attribution of these so-called "California c/s's" but is labeling them to appear that they're Civil War pieces! IMHO, this is a big disservice to collectors.

Since I own 11 pieces, I would LOVE these to be truly accepted as CW tokens from California! Unless the TRUE issuer of this c/s was only in business during the CW years, the only one that is logically a CW issue is the one dated 1861. Both J.F. & C.F. Rudolph were in business prior to the Civil War. Circumstantial attributions of counterstamps can be intriguing, but they're ultimately meaningless without PROOF positive.

It should be noted that both Rulau and Brunk had to change a number of their early listings as later facts proved the listings wrong. Both authors were much dependent upon many contributors who did faulty and sometimes prejudicial research. It's a sad state of affairs when ignorance, politics and greed rule the day in this wonderful hobby we share.

 

Ignorance, politics and greed are the main driving forces behind the hobby. Without these this hobby would be almost as much fun as collecting rocks.

 

I guess I'll keep mine, lol.

 

My wife collects rocks, and, she paints them, too. She puts them in people's gardens and elsewhere to find. She much enjoys that, AND there's no ignorance, politics or greed involved. Of course, those factors drive the coin market to some degree, BUT I refuse to encourage same or fall prey, myself.

 

Nice touch!

 

ExoMan has been trying to convince me for a long while that the Rudolph counterstamps aren't California issues. While I'm not totally on board, the more I think about it the more I'm accepting the idea. I also have a couple of Rudolph stamps but don't have a vested interest in them being from California. Like ExoMan I want them to be properly attributed.

A good example of correct attribution comes with a group of Large Cents that Brunk listed in his reference simply as "A Set of Countermarked Coins". The prevailing theory...not his though...was that they were used as ID badges by a band of so called Copperheads during the Civil War. There are about 15 coins stamped with a single word such as Irwin, Jack, Lodge, Beam, Dike, etc. These are supposed to identify members of the ring to each other.

I was lucky enough to pick up 10 of the coins over a period of several years, mostly from Steve Hayden. As I studied them it became obvious to me that they were never carried anywhere by anyone. Some were well precerved, nearly pristine and some of the stamps showed the copper of the coin. I was always skeptical as was Brunk, but the misinformation was passed on from one source to another and so became "truth." I NEVER saw any sources for the supposed attribution, even in an article in the Numismatist. No sources were ever cited because there aren't any.

I did find out later what the coins were actuslly used for from a man who remembered them well from his childhood. They were used in a child's game to teach kids how to construct sentences and the general useage of language. Some "Copperhead Ring"! A relative of his had stamped the coins many years earlier and were used by his grandmother as a teaching aid.

The correct attribution is important.

Bruce

 

That's incredible. When i found that coin, i thought simply, some fool had punched their name in a beautiful coin. Who knew that i had a coin that was enveloped in such intrigue and mystery!
Thank you for the continued education.