Are there any US Mint Counter-stamped Coins?

I can't find any foreign or US coins that have been counter-stamped by the US Mint.

Specifically, I was hoping to find an 8 Reales coin that's counter-stamped as a US dollar equivalent, given the legal tender status of the 8 Reales coin for a long period in the US. I know that there are British counter-stamp examples, and probably other nations' Mint examples of counter-stamping the Reales coins, but none that I can find for the US.

Was the 8 Reales so well known to be equivalent to it's US silver coin counterpart that there was no need for counter-stamping them by the US Mint? It was the colonial standard, after all. Or why were they not counter-stamped by the US Mint? Or were they counter-stamped and are simply uber rare?

Thanks in advance!

 

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Personally I've never heard of the US Mint counter stamping any coin.

 

I've never heard of it either, they do have chopmarks though.

 

Counter stamped coins have a long history in the early days of minted coins. Many companies used counter stamping as a method to advertise their company. There are thousands of counter stamped coins some of which carry little value while others command values in the thousands. In any case, these coins were changed after leaving the mint, and are not true error coins.

Initials were sometime cut into coins. Some of these coins have been classified as "love tokens" having the initials of the person who counter stamped the coin. Below is a counter stamped Lincoln cent with a number 2 in a bar shape outline. This coin was found with some others with personal initials in a 5,000 piece coin bag purchased from a coin show.



Lincoln Cent with Counter Stamped 2

 

The first mint was established in 1792, and for many years into the 19th century, it was the practice of the mint to accept foreign coinage to be melted down to use the metal to make the new coinage. Given that, why would it be necessary to counterstamp any foreign coinage?

Chris

 

Wouldn't it be far more economical to counter-stamp than to melt and mint, especially in times of war or economic depression?

 

I'm by no means an expert on this but, if they did that I fell like it would open up major counterfeiting problems. Then anyone could stamp something onto a coin and ta-da US coinage. Even if they did do this it would have to be strictly regulated to prevent inflation of the real US dollar.

 

Our new country was intent on establishing itself in the eyes of the rest of the world, and relying on foreign coinage had no place in the plans to achieve this.

Chris

 

The only coin counterstamped by the US Mint were the 1848 quarter eagles counterstamped CAL. from the first shipment of California gold.

 

I don't think that it would have been an issue.

A counterfeited counter-stamp of an authentic 8 Reales would still be an 8 Reales. During the colonial era, it was far more stable a currency than what was issued at the US state or federal level. It would effectively lead to transactions being made the way it was always done prior to any hypothetical mass counter-stamping. So, any sort of counterfeiting of counter-stamps would have been moot, as the US dollar would literally be fixed to the 8 Reales.

That makes sense.

 

I've seen one ......not in hand but here's what I am talking about. Years ago the G-8 countries started making privy coins. They were made for the World's fair of Money. Most European ,Canada,and Australia had privy coins in limited mintage's to sell at these events. I seen one ASE marked USA a stamped in a ASE that was supposed to have been sold or released at the event in Europe . I believe it was a world's fair of money in Germany .
I don't know if the coin was real or something someone stamped. USA on. I do know it was listed as very rare, a very small mintage / release . And it sold for a lot of money.
At the time I was collecting world bullion with privy marks.
And some hold a very high premium . The Canadian Maple leaf with the Dutch tulip is one that comes to mind. There are a few others with WWII privy marks. That also hold a high premium .
Most of these can be found in Europe as that's where they were released .

 

Chop marks were added by Asian Merchants once they had validated the coins metal content. They were NOT added by the US Mint.

 

I'll take that as Gospel!

 

YES.


Test, which one is it?

 

Hint #1:

It is from the 19th century

 

Hint #2:

Not silver

 

#3:

Not copper

 

That leaves:


???

 

Give up yet?

 

think:

Gold, $2 1/2