Any guesses on this copper counter stamped & holed coin?

[kpmoose]

I found this coin on my last hunt of 2014 in a cornfield that Aloldstuff had a permission. I had posted it previously in the relic forum in late December. It was a really toasted coin that I could only ID the counterstamp. It reads R-BEEBE. I tried to clean it using the peroxide treatment, but it did not provide any detail. Today, I said "what the heck" and decided to try some electrolysis on it to see if there was any hidden detail to try & help ID it. Below are the pics before and after the electrolysis. Looks like there is a right facing bust - more visible when the coin is wet. The coin measures approx 27mm and the weight is currently 8.2 grams. Al found a Draped Bust 1/2 cent in this corn field during our hunt- I mention this to help date the field. Any thoughts on what it might be?

[del]

es there seems to be a bust there but there is some considerable distortion to it brought on by the elements and fertilizers.

[Restoring Your Finds]

That is a tough one ! Very interesting though.

Thanks for sharing. I hope the experts will be able to answer you and ID this coin.

[BTV Digger]

Lots of corrosion, and this is a guess only...probably never gonna be certain given the corrosion...but the sloped forehead above the presumed nose, the way the head appears slightly tilted back and the possible wavy pattern on the rear of the head makes me think it may be a type of early flowing hair LC. You can probably rotate it, wet it, and shine a light on it in a number of ways and get a number of different answers though. Thanks again for sharing.

John

[kpmoose]

Lots of corrosion, and this is a guess only...probably never gonna be certain given the corrosion...but the sloped forehead above the presumed nose, the way the head appears slightly tilted back and the possible wavy pattern on the rear of the head makes me think it may be a type of early flowing hair LC. You can probably rotate it, wet it, and shine a light on it in a number of ways and get a number of different answers though. Thanks again for sharing.

John


Yeah, 1793 Strawberry leaf variety. :cool:

Here's another pic:

[MangoAve]

You might be right about a flowing hair. I was comparing back and forth as well. Could be even strawberry leaf variety from second pic. The first pic looks more like the regular variety. Any luck finding out about R.Beebe?

[BTV Digger]

I did a little research online and found a few references to a James W. Beebe, who counter-stamped coins in the earlier half of the 19th century and was a silversmith operating out of NYC. Also found a Stacks and Bowers auction pamphlet advertising an R-Beebe counter-stamped 1804 Half Cent, but nothing beyond that. Perhaps R-Beebe was the father or uncle of James W. Beebe and also in the business? Dunno. That would require some more work.

John

[kpmoose]

I did a little research online and found a few references to a James W. Beebe, who counter-stamped coins in the earlier half of the 19th century and was a silversmith operating out of NYC. Also found a Stacks and Bowers auction pamphlet advertising an R-Beebe counter-stamped 1804 Half Cent, but nothing beyond that. Perhaps R-Beebe was the father or uncle of James W. Beebe and also in the business? Dunno. That would require some more work.

John

Thanks for the info John.:thumbsup01: I need to dig into it a little more.