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Message:: [QUOTE="BRandM, post: 2206378, member: 22729"]I've checked out your counterstamps,TradingGreen, and have some comments for you. The two initial stamps...E.H and DG...are both unlisted in any references I have. These are what's known as American Primitives because of their crude workmanship. Neither can likely be identified, simply because initial-only stamps provide no real information to research. Although crude, these Primitives have a certain appeal to them. Very reminiscent of the Indiana Primitive series of Civil War tokens issued by Henry Higgins. Unfortunately, "H. Bull" is too common a name to have a reasonable chance of attributing. This stamp is also unlisted. The neat heart stamp is what's known as a pictorial, a symbol or object with no supporting text. I think pictorials are an interesting area of counterstamp collecting, but rarely can be assigned an issuer. "Ben Wood / Saco / Maine" is obviously a modern piece because it's stamped on a 1901 Morgan Dollar. I would guess it's c1920s-1940s. I did a quick check but found no Ben Wood in Saco. I'm sure he can be found with a bit of effort. Generally, counterstamps that provide a name and location, can be. This one's also unlisted, but it looks familiar to me. "JH & Co." is unusual because it's what's called a retrograde stamp. This reverse-image type stamp isn't common, but I've seen a number of examples over the years. Apparently, they were made this way to stamp a raised design or legend on the opposite side of something. A stamp-through I suppose you could say. Brunk does list this one as H-36. Yours is the only documented example so far. No one has attributed it yet. Again, initial stamps are very tough to research. The "RF" stamps are well known and have been extensively researched. Apparently, ALL of them are thought to be fantasy stamps...counterstamps that are meant to deceive. Although these pieces are over a hundred years old, the stamps were issued to appeal to collectors of French Colonial and West Indies coins. "RF" stands for Republique Francaise and were supposed to have authorized their circulation on Guadeloupe. Many hundreds or even thousands of these were issued and are seen regularly on eBay and in other auctions. The best one of the eight is the "F.B.Fraley" stamp. Although unlisted, I spent a bit of time researching this one. Peter B. Fraley was a Philadelphia saw and tool maker who started his business in 1850. He was listed in city directories as a machinists as early as 1846, but didn't specialize until 1850. He worked at various addresses in Kensington...790 N. 2nd, Lydia St., until 1859, when he sold his business to Henry Disston. Disston was the "800 pound gorilla" of Philadelphia sawmakers. He bought dozens of manufacturers over the years an monopolized the industry for many years. Apparently, Fraley retired after selling out an became a "gentleman". This was the way retired, well-to-do men were often described in directories of that era. He later served as an alderman for the West Philadelphia neighborhood of Hestonville. An interesting counterstamp for sure. I'm still checking on a few things, TradingGreen, and if I come up with any additional information, I'll post it. In the meantime, if you have others you'd like me to look into, I'll be happy to do so. Bruce[/QUOTE]

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