Here's a nice club counterstamp issued by the North East Ohio Coin Club. I've only seen one additional example, also on a 1959 Washington Qtr. This may be the date they were organized. It's a nice well executed stamp but I don't know who cut the die or struck them. Bruce
Here's three of my early Philadelphia counterstamps. All are rare but are seen at auction once in a great while. I have a special interest in Philly issues and have about 30 different examples. For what ever reason, they don't come along often and when they do always bring a decent price. The Berry and second Jones stamps seem to have been cut by the same die sinker. Bruce
Counter struck / over struck coins are a strong collecting interest area for me. Here are a few more. Z
I have a couple of the Missouri Numismatic Society 25th anniversary pieces. I picked up one years ago on eBay and a second from Paul Cunningham at the Baltimore show 6 or 7 years ago. I only paid $40 for that one. Bruce
I was hoping to discover a host coin varient. It would be cool to find a Morgan or Peace Dollar overstrike. Z
Below are some billon fleur-de-lis counterstamps I won for multiples less than I bid at a recent Stack’s Bowers auction. This was my first experience with SB and am very pleased w/ their service. I noticed that the coins and old collector envelopes/tags were actually mixed up between the lots. I also noticed that one of the lot descriptions and corresponding collector envelopes/tags, listed Louis XIII as ruler, for the 1596 example. Since both tags state that the counterstamp is “over” a Louis XIII, this must be considered erroneous. Although the counterstamping actually took place during the reign of Louis XIII (Edict of 1640), the host coin was produced in Avignon, before his birth, and should be attributed like the other lot (to Clement VIII). These counterstamped billon coins are very underappreciated in my opinion. The examples here encompass such a wide variety of potential collector focus with implications to France, New France, Canada, Papal States, North American Colonial, etc… I’ve located some great references on these which really add to the fun. Stack’s Bowers coin photos. 1st Coin: French Colonies Edict of 1640 Counterstamped Fleur-de-lis over a 1599 Clement VIII Papal/Avignon Douzain/Douzinna de Billon (Breen 271) (Vlack 10) 27 gr. 2nd Coin: French Colonies Edict of 1640 Counterstamped Fleur-de-lis over a 1596 Clement VIII Papal/Avignon Douzain/Douzinna de Billon (Breen 271) (Vlack 10) 31.8 gr.
Great coins and attached history, Jesse. I've read the Breen descriptions and found the issues fascinating. The fact that they are linked to colonial America is very appealing to me. I had a decent collection of colonials at one time, though none of these billon coins. I have dealt with Dave Bowers often over the years and find him to be one of the finest people in numismatics. I'm also the proud owner of some examples from his former collection of counterstamped coins. Bruce
Thanks, Bruce! My first series was a 212 coin album of '32-'98 business strikes and proof quarters. His words guided me into an impressive, higher end set. I've always wanted to share that one with him (Mr. Bowers). Planning to pick up a copy of his new edition on colonials, too!
Thanks for the info on the new Bowers book. I didn't know he was publishing anything on colonials. Bruce