I joined to learn about the coins my granddaughter gave me for Christmas. She purchased a box from and antique store, and within it was a small watch box that contained 8 coins. The one that interested me the most is an 1861 US seated liberty 10 cent coin that was counterstamped with a monogram of three initials (HDM) and drilled so the monogram would hang correctly. I suspect this coin was selected because it is silver and the monogram was possibly the initials of a lover or some other significant person to the original owner. The monogram is what appears to be “Gothic” letters and the reverse of the coin is either very worn or was damaged during the counterstamping process. My question is how common was this process to stamp a monogram? Has anyone seen a similar stamped coin? Thanks Pete
Those weren't stamped; they were engraved. One of these took many hours to make, and I guess it was supposed to be a sign of affection. Overall, they are called "love tokens" and they are quite common.
However, "they are quite common" doesn't mean that you would turn up a bunch if you were to buy some old silver. There are collectors of these and they do sell for a premium (don't quit your day job). That one is quite nice.
You posted the letters as "HDM" , to me it looks like "HAD". The letter that is covered the most would be the last one in sequence. ?
