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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;BRandM, post: 2759081, member: 22729&quot;]As some of you know, I have a great interest in collecting and researching counterstamped and graffiti coins relating to the Irish Troubles. Although the religious and territorial conflict has been going on for nearly 800 years, the last three decades of the 20th century is the period that most people are aware of. Most political expressions stamped or cut onto coins or tokens were issued in the 1960s / 1980s, but some date back much earlier. This coin is one of the rare examples, and the oldest by far that I&#039;ve ever seen.</p><p><br /></p><p>&nbsp;I always thought of 1688 as the beginning of the &quot;modern&quot; era in this conflict...as odd as that sounds. In that year, William of Orange, deposed the Catholic King of England, James II. William was James&#039; son-in-law, but a Protestant, though both were from the royal House of Stuart. James had converted to Catholicism some years earlier. In 1690 when James landed an army in Ireland in an attempt to regain the throne, he was defeated by William at the battle of the Boyne near Drogheda, Meath. This set the stage for the ascendancy of Protestantism to the English throne. There would never be another Catholic King after James. This event really triggered the so-called modern era.</p><p><br /></p><p>The coin is a Half Penny of William III. The date is unreadable, but would have had to been struck sometime between 1695 and 1701...the only years these coins were issued. Initially, I passed over the coin several times on an auction site. I didn&#039;t realize it&#039;d importance until I finally connected the dots. After taking a closer look I realized that the counterstamps were a rendition of the so-named Tudor Rose. the heraldic badge of the House of Stuart. This then would be a&nbsp; &quot;celebration&quot; of sorts of William&#039;s victory. It could be argued, I suppose, that it was a statement in support of James, as both were of the House of Stuart. The stamp over William&#039;s portrait might be considered a defacement, but I believe the stamps show support for William. In any case, it&#039;s related to the English / Irish conflict, and a very early and important piece.</p><p><br /></p><p>The coin was dug by an English metal-detectorist earlier this year at a site just east of Lovedon Lane in the village of Kings Worthy, Hampshire. Knowing the details of the find adds a lot of interest to me. There were two other Half Pennies found at the dig, but not counterstamped. I&#039;ve included an image of a Tudor Rose along with the pictures of the coin. Thanks for looking.</p><p><br /></p><p>Bruce[ATTACH=full]633681[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]633682[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]633683[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]633684[/ATTACH][/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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