Hi, first post. About 10 years ago I received a roll of older dimes in my register at work. I've held onto them all this time and hoped someone here could tell me what I have. It seems to have a 7 stamped on the face of the coin. I'm unsure if this is something that could have happened in the the mint or occurred much later in it's life. Any info is appreciated.
Welcome to the neighborhood! It is sometimes referred to as a counterstamp and was applied sometime after it left the Mint. There is a small collector group for counterstamps, but for the majority of collectors, it is considered nothing more than post-Mint damage. It may carry a small premium for the right person. Chris
Good to have you on CT unsunder. Usually counterstamps like yours are just random punches by people that need something to do. On ocassion numbers or initials have a commercial purpose but mostly are just random and have meaning only to the counterstamper. In the 19th Century it was a very common practice by merchants and private citizens to stamp coins to advertise a business, promote a political point of view, to be used as a "pocket piece" for personal Identification, or for any number of other reasons. Some are quite valuable depending on who struck then and for what purpose. Bruce
Very interesting info, I never would have guessed it would have value, but one man's trash is another man's treasure!
