Pardon the lighting, but this is a photo of a 1900 Morgan and my wife pointed out the odd cross on its chest. I'm just starting out in the hobby but rated this an F-12. The breast feathers are entirely gone on the eagle, but they are replaced with what looks like a deliberate cross etched into the chest. Just something curious because it seems too intentional for it to be chance wear and tear. I wonder why anyone would do such a thing? Anyone come across any defacing of a coin other than hole punches?
I have seen old US coins with markings with meanings such as kill count marks from WW2 and kept as good luck coins. I could think your coin in question could of been of religious significance to the owner and kept also as a luck charm. Or just simply someone who was bored. Counterstamps are other types of markings but made for advertisement or souvenirs. Such as the bust of Kennedy counterstamped on a Lincoln Cent.
Maybe an artifact from the "Free Silver" Party and contemporary elections? The Silver Party was a political party in the United States, most successful in Nevada, active from 1892-1911.[1][2] The party supported a platform of bimetallism and "Free Silver."
I think what David wants to know is why deface a coin with etched marks. Counterstamps are a different type of deliberate marks.
They do it for the same reason that kids dip Lincoln cents in mercury, spoon the edges, put them on railroad tracks, etc. They don't have anything better to do! Chris
Sometimes the defacement of a coin adds to a coins merits rather than detracts. For example: Back in 2009 I bought this problem child with graffiti. The inscription in the upper right field reads "Cadet Robertson 1845. In the left (behind Liberty) Robertson is repeated. As gentlemen military cadets were expected to never be completely without funds. Thus it became a common practice to carry a pocket piece--often from one's birth year. A search of West Point archives comes up with Beverly Robertson--born June 1827, appointed to USMA 1845, and graduated class of 1849. He went on to become a CSA general during the Civil War. One has to wonder if this was his coin. No way to prove it, but I like to think so.
Did the carvers of Hobo Nickels keep all their works, or did they make them to sell for a profit? A little different from merely defacing, it was creating art.
I find it easy to bend the shield cents...but i dont, cause i do not want the sorting machines to break. But when a bunch of bored guys are drinking in the garage, with nothing else to do...they empty their pockets and weld, vise, drill and saw all the stuff together to pass the time.
I went to my friends today, he showed me his Cent collection from the winter searching. Included was a 1995D DD with a heart punched through the entire coin, but you can see it good in the 'Liberty' . He has it in a plastic case and all, i told him it would probably go for $15 anyway.....
i wonder how PCGS would slab it? DDO damaged i guess, but its a 64 all day if not higher on the unpunched area.
It is really great reading all of your posts. Amazing how much information a coin can carry, depending on its travels and who owned it. I just finished going through a batch of Peace dollars and found one inscribed with "Uncle FRANK." Sure do wonder what happened to the gentleman... I have no Uncle Frank in my family, so somewhere along the way an Uncle Frank lost his Peace dollar. Poor guy. Literally and figuratively.
