, Well, I finally had my consultation with Dr. Darby. I've wanted one of these counterstamps for sometime and finally found a nice one to bid on in Steve Hayden's last auction. There are about 35 or 40 examples of his counterstamp documented, most of them on 2-Reales like mine. Ralph H. Darby was both a Boston apothecary and physician in the 1850's but didn't seem to practice for more than a few years, at least in that city. He had offices at 91 Broad St. and the corner of Fleet and Moon between 1850 and 1858 when he disappeared from Boston directories. He did some advertising in local city papers, but not after 1855. I believe he lived into the 1870's but I couldn't locate anymore information on him. Greg Brunk notes in his listing that many of Darby's stamps are doublestruck although mine isn't. This is the first one I've personally been able to examine. There is an odd series of markings on the left side of the host coin. Hayden says they appear to be some sort of design counterstamp. I agree but can't really tell what they represent, if anything. Comments are welcomed. Thanks for looking. Bruce
Like I mentioned m60, I've never examined any other examples, but of the ones I've seen pictures of none were holed. Apparently, this was worn on a chain or hung on a nail for some reason. It's nice to think that Dr. Darby himself may have worn this one as a personal "pocket" piece. BooksB4Coins: Thanks for your comment. The best part of collecting these pieces is finding the history behind them. Bruce
Here's another countertamp I picked up at the same auction as the Darby piece. This came from Dave bowers collection, so it's nice to have that provenance. Quimby is listed in Brunk but isn't attributed to anyone yet. I just started a search through major city east coast directories from the 1850's and 60's to see if I can identify him. So far the state of Maine looks promising but I'm not sure I'll ever find him. I think it's a nice counterstamp just the same. Bruce
http://stacksbowers.com/Auctions/AuctionLot.aspx?LotID=373224 Bruce, If you go after that one, PM me and I will tell you my max bid price. No need to cut each others throat Joseph
