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Message:: [QUOTE="BRandM, post: 2698711, member: 22729"]I had a pretty good day on Thursday at the Baltimore coin show. I picked up a nice ANA medal, three pieces of NJ obsolete currency and this great old counterstamp. The coin is an 1801 Large Cent, and a nice clean, evenly worn example. The counterstamp is in a very old style, and probably was added when the coin was new or nearly so. "P Stow" is listed in Rulau and Brunk with no attribution by either. They both list my coin as the only example known so far, so this issue is probably unique. The hard but fun part is finding out who Stow was. The style looks to be that of a tool maker, iron monger, blacksmith, or something similar. Since the workmanship is crude, we're not looking for a silversmith, or any fine metal craftsman. One detail that makes his stamp different than any I've ever seen, is the use of three periods or dots after his initial. Often in the early years of counterstamping the period after an initial was added half way up the letter, not at the base as is seen in later years. The dot style may help in identifying Stow. I'll post the pic of my ANA medal later. Thanks for looking. Bruce[ATTACH=full]607041[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]607042[/ATTACH][/QUOTE]