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Message:: [QUOTE="BRandM, post: 1654092, member: 22729"]I know few of you have an interest in counterstamped coins, most seeing them simply as damaged or mutilated pieces. I see them differently of course as I research and collect them with a passion. To me they're messages sent to us from the past, some easily understood but others enigmatic and mysterious. I love the challenge of looking for what their legends are "saying". Who was "G.W.C." and why did he stamp his initials on probably hundreds of Half Cents in the early years of the 19th Century? Why did he only stamp Half Cents? Who were "Hunt & Moore" and what type of business were they advertising? Where were they located? Who was "J.G. Amerigo" who stamped a beautifully executed  coat-of-arms and his name on an 1833 Large Cent? I don't know the answer to any of these questions, but I never give up the hunt. As is often the case, I may never find the answer but I think maybe the effort is more fun than the outcome. At one time I also had a problem with the damage inflicted by counterstampers on sometimes very nice coins, but I was set straight years ago by a coin dealer friend of mine. He explained to me that when these coins were stamped they had no meaning to the issuers other than their intrinsic value. Much like we give little thought today to a common Lincoln Cent or Roosevelt Dime, they did likewise to Large Cents or Spanish silver coins. I've never forgotten that. Bruce[/QUOTE]