Take a look at this Meiji 10 (1877) Two-Sen Japanese coin. What would a grading company type up on the insert for this coin? Would someone have to pay for some sort of attribution fee to have the insert read "countermarked?" What sort of attribution should be on the insert? Is there a difference across the grading companies as far as what the insert might read for such a coin? I know it's not the greatest condition coin, and I'll take your sarcastic replies too, but keep 'em limited to a total of only three sarcastic replies for this thread. I am kind of sensitive...
I have seen NGC slabs say "Private Countermark" (as the example below that I copied from online). However, with something that is not well established, you are more likely to get a "damaged" details grade. PCGS will give a straight grade and mention the countermark (example below also found online) but I believe it also has to be one that is documented (not anything).
My big grading guess is FINE or VERY FINE. I wouldn't worry about sarcastic comments about that. Commerce is kinda where they were suppose to be.
It will get a details grade. It's considered damage. It probably was used as a token for a coat check. IMHO
That's an interesting guess. I've seen two of them with the same date and same chopmark. I wonder what they were really used for?
Mark, we know you far too well to believe a little sarcasm will trip your overly sensitive side . The canonical use of this type of counterstamp is for some kind of check or chit. Tool, Coat, In/Out. Rack of cubbies. 2 of something. In the spirit, I'm going to go with toilet paper. This is a chit for two sheets.
...or two ROLLS of toilet paper! Man, anyone who would use this as a chit for two sheets of TP is a total jerk. You wouldn't believe how much TP my wife uses: Half the flippin' roll disappears after a #1. Anyway, the denomination of the coin is "Two-Sen," so perhaps this counterstamp was meant as an aid to foreign sailors in Japanese open ports? The coincidence that the denomination and the stamp are the same is interesting.
DOH! That's right. But you have to look VERY closely. Now I get it: It was meant for sailors with poor eyesight.
I recently checked the NGC web site and it said chopmarked coins would receive details grades. I gather PCGS had no problem with them. I have a trade dollar with a chopmark and I cannot figure out why someone even sent it to NGC if they could not hope for a reasonable grade.
Check these out: https://www.tokencatalog.com/token_...=604774&attribution_id=680928&record_offset=1 https://www.tokencatalog.com/token_...=463284&attribution_id=583953&record_offset=2 The counter stamp isn't the same font, but I wonder if it served a similar purpose. Whatever that purpose was...
For now Trade Dollars are still the only chopped coins that PCGS will straight grade (not so with other world coins that have chops). I don't think enough people know that NGC will automatically detail all chopped coins, including trade dollars, so that is one reason they still send them there. Another might be bulk rates (for dealers) on coins they think would detail grade for other reasons (cleaned, etc) or someone preferring NGC to PCGS.
My thought was that it's not a 2, but a character from some other alphabet. But I looked at a bunch - Sanskrit, Thai, Laos, Cambodia, Malay, etc - and couldn't find a match.
It would be similar to a picker token or various piece work tokens that were issued. Shuck a gallon of oysters and receive a token to turn in on payday. Shuck a sailor, sailor first gives them a token he paid for down stairs. And don't forget to talk him into buying a bottle of re-cycled slop called Champagne. Piece work tokens made accounting very easy.