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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;H8_modern, post: 2632075, member: 28531&quot;]Friend found some good info and sent me the link.</p><p><br /></p><p>Excellent 1858-O seated half with the GENL PIKE counterstamp! </p><p>Only two pieces -- both on seated dimes -- are listed in Brunk (P-493). I’m aware of at least 4 other coins with this mark (one on a seated quarter, two on seated half dollars, and this one). All are very desirable steamboat pieces with a couple of recent trades in the $500.00 - $600.00 range. This 1858-O half dollar is a very original example and has a well struck countermark (not always the case with GENL PIKE marks). It’s a great addition to any collection, offered here at no reserve. </p><p>My research shows there were at least 4 vessels called the General Pike. (The Wooldridge Steamboat List shows 8 vessels with the name General Pike!) The original General Pike was the first steamboat to ascend the Mississippi River above the mouth of the Ohio and reach St. Louis (around 1818). It was built on the model of a barge with her cabin on the lower deck, barely showing above the bulwarks. A low-pressure steam engine was often inadequate against the current and had to be assisted with shoulder poles. </p><p>Later, Charles Dickens was aboard the General Pike while traveling across America in the early 1840s and collecting stories for his book &quot;American Notes for General Circulation&quot; -- the vessel he rode was likely launched about 1835. A New York Times article reported the Genl. Pike sank as a total loss on Sept. 23, 1853 but we really don&#039;t know which General went down. </p><p>Another vessel named Genl. Pike was constructed at Cincinnati, OH for the exclusive accommodation of passengers, operating 1856 - 1861 (it is during this period the c/s coins were likely issued). Its fate is not known, but a final Genl. Pike steamer was launched in 1876 (a stern-wheeler) and carried the mail. She sank January 1, 1891 after colliding with a coal barge. </p><p><br /></p><p><img src="http://i1169.photobucket.com/albums/r515/12volt-man/Mobile%20Uploads/2017-01/B30F831A-AB42-4736-A217-25B93F93482F_zpsnefqwbi3.jpeg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /> </p><p><br /></p><p>Here are new pics of both sides of the one I just got.</p><p><br /></p><p><img src="http://i1169.photobucket.com/albums/r515/12volt-man/Mobile%20Uploads/2017-01/771FD0A7-A13C-4C5A-9B1C-E9F88AF97AE5_zpse4rjy5do.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /> </p><p><img src="http://i1169.photobucket.com/albums/r515/12volt-man/Mobile%20Uploads/2017-01/E4F95383-D531-4CBE-A4B8-91A776FAAB22_zpsycxpps2l.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" />[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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