Reply to Thread

Message:: [QUOTE="cwtokenman, post: 68666, member: 2100"]I would not be too quick to say the 1820 crown (if genuine) is only worth melt because of the initials stamped into it. There are collectors of counterstamps (of which I am one), and it is not uncommon for a counterstamped coin to be worth multiples of that same coin without the counterstamp. Value is substantially higher if it is known who/where the counterstamp originated. My recent edition on counterstamps by Brunk does not list "SW", but at least two examples need to be known before making the list. While many older foreign coins are listed (as they were circulating in the U.S.), I am not sure if foreign merchants are, which may be the case here. Regardless of where the stamp originated, I would expect more than melt if sold on ebay. If it were an American coin, I would guess somewhere 2-5X melt for unknown initials, but I am not sure what a foreign coin would bring. I agree with GDJMSP that the clip on the half crown occurred after it left the mint. The Masonic counterstamped cent, since it is of a rather generic nature, is not valuable. I guess it would bring .25 to .50, perhaps a dollar on a real good day, strictly as a novelty piece.[/QUOTE]