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Thread: Altered Colonial Coins

  1. #1
    Veteran Member BTV Digger's Avatar
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    Altered Colonial Coins

    Hi all,

    Seeing I'm in the painful "waiting 'til spring" mode up here in northern New England, I thought I'd share a shot of my altered large cents and colonial coins I've found over the past few years or so to get that bug an itching for all of you. I'm sure you "East Coasters" have found some also, so feel free to share here. Of the 7 coins shown here I've identified six of them, but need some help on the first coin at upper right in the top row. It kind of looks like a KG1 or a perhaps a KG1 Woods Hibernia. I've shown a close-up in the second pick which shows a bust facing right with the nose just below the sideways 2. Shoot me your guesses! For the wide shot, the coins are:

    Top row: *Unidentified colonial coin with the number 2 stamped on both obverse and reverse
    *Cut 1803 Draped Bust LC
    *King George II half penny love token (LB cursive script)

    Middle row:
    *King George III half penny made into a button
    *1828 Matron LC with H. Hovey counterstamp (not much to go on here - I believe he was a druggist in Boston or somewhere in MA)

    Bottom row: *No date Draped Bust LC made into a screwdriver
    *1798 Draped Bust LC with initials IDM, or JDM on the obverse (research could find no provenance)


    John

    Name:  altered coins.jpg
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Size:  48.6 KBName:  altered coins 2.jpg
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    Vermont relic hunting, one swing at a time.
    https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCG2...OLib30A/videos

  2. #2
    Elite Member Digger Don's Avatar
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    Very cool! I've often wondered why people counter stamped coins back in the day.

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Size:  87.3 KB Seated Half dug in 2018
    Oldest Coin: 1699 William III Halfpenny


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  3. #3
    Veteran Member BTV Digger's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Digger Don View Post
    Very cool! I've often wondered why people counter stamped coins back in the day.

    Name:  4-29-18 005.jpg
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Size:  87.3 KB Seated Half dug in 2018
    Killer counterstamped half Don! Counterstamping coins was often done as an advertising trick by tradesmen or store owners to attract new business to their location. Another reason to alter coins was just for plain personal use from what I've read, though those alterations were usually done by etching or carving instead of actual counterstamping.

    John
    Vermont relic hunting, one swing at a time.
    https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCG2...OLib30A/videos

  4. #4
    Here's my counter stamped coins:
    Oldest Coin: 100-60 BC Gallic bronze coin (Sequani Tribe)
    Oldest Silver Coin: 1156 hammered Pfennig from (now) Bavaria
    Oldest U.S. coin: 1805 Draped Bust Large Cent
    Best Coins EVER: 1625 4 Sols from Kingdom of Chateau Renaud, France
    1662 15 Kreuzers, Leopold I, Austria
    Best Relics: Bronze Age Arrowheads & Spearhead, 2c Roman silver ring, complete medieval knight's spur (x6)
    YouTube Channel: Full Metal Digger

  5. #5
    So cool, John! That LB is amazing! I've yet to find a love token. Don's half is off the charts! Anyone guess the date on the "2's" font? Did it come much later than colonial times? We all have a bunch of single holed coins too. Dan told me, not only did people wear the coins around their necks but hung them about the doorway to commemorate the completion of the house or a wedding day. at Dave
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    On Instagram- oxshoedrew

  6. #6
    Drew, what can you tell us about the coin with the Fleur-de-lis counter stamp? Is it a French Liard? I'm guessing Louis XVI timeframe with that stamp.
    Oldest Coin: 100-60 BC Gallic bronze coin (Sequani Tribe)
    Oldest Silver Coin: 1156 hammered Pfennig from (now) Bavaria
    Oldest U.S. coin: 1805 Draped Bust Large Cent
    Best Coins EVER: 1625 4 Sols from Kingdom of Chateau Renaud, France
    1662 15 Kreuzers, Leopold I, Austria
    Best Relics: Bronze Age Arrowheads & Spearhead, 2c Roman silver ring, complete medieval knight's spur (x6)
    YouTube Channel: Full Metal Digger

  7. #7
    Administrator del's Avatar
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    Great subject and very nice finds John , I love seeing altered coins and tokens and speculating on what their intentions were made for , really makes you wonder .

    John , is the coin with the stamped 2 thinner than most of the other colonial coins ?

    Dan
    "Honesty is an expensive gift ,
    so don't expect it from cheap people"

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    Click here to view my finds album


  8. #8
    Quote Originally Posted by Full Metal Digger View Post
    Drew, what can you tell us about the coin with the Fleur-de-lis counter stamp? Is it a French Liard? I'm guessing Louis XVI timeframe with that stamp.
    Dave, I read its a stamp made by another government to allow the coin to circulate in that country as well. I haven't heard of it being any type of allegiance during the French Rev. I think its a KG2
    On Instagram- oxshoedrew

  9. #9
    Veteran Member BTV Digger's Avatar
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    HaHa Dave. I'm actually surprised at that. I guess that's not really a thing over in Europe?

    John
    Vermont relic hunting, one swing at a time.
    https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCG2...OLib30A/videos

  10. #10
    Veteran Member BTV Digger's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by del View Post
    Great subject and very nice finds John , I love seeing altered coins and tokens and speculating on what their intentions were made for , really makes you wonder .

    John , is the coin with the stamped 2 thinner than most of the other colonial coins ?

    Dan
    Hi Dan,

    Yeah, very thin like a typical British counterfeit copper or perhaps a well worn regal variety. Rings up a 78 VDI on the AT Pro. The backside is wiped clean except it has another #2 on it.

    John
    Vermont relic hunting, one swing at a time.
    https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCG2...OLib30A/videos

  11. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by OxShoeDrew View Post
    So cool, John! That LB is amazing! I've yet to find a love token. Don's half is off the charts! Anyone guess the date on the "2's" font? Did it come much later than colonial times? We all have a bunch of single holed coins too. Dan told me, not only did people wear the coins around their necks but hung them about the doorway to commemorate the completion of the house or a wedding day. at Dave
    Very nice Drew! Were they trying to make a salt shaker lid for the coin at lower right? Sounds crazy, but honestly not off the table after reading about all of their uses!

    John
    Vermont relic hunting, one swing at a time.
    https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCG2...OLib30A/videos

  12. #12
    Great and interesting finds! Coins with countermarks are quite rare to find. Also in Europe. However, if I would find the coin with the 2 or the lilies in Europe, I would think first of a dyer's mark. They are quite common here and served as a collection receipt in the dye works. An identical counterpart remains with the dyers. Is there something like that over there?

  13. #13
    Veteran Member BTV Digger's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Menzl View Post
    Great and interesting finds! Coins with countermarks are quite rare to find. Also in Europe. However, if I would find the coin with the 2 or the lilies in Europe, I would think first of a dyer's mark. They are quite common here and served as a collection receipt in the dye works. An identical counterpart remains with the dyers. Is there something like that over there?
    Thanks Mendl and interesting suggestion! You know, the one thing that's similar over here are old brass railroad luggage tags from the 1800s. I've dug several. The traveler would keep one and the railroad bagman would keep the other, so when the final destination was reached the traveler could retain their bags by presenting their copy of the tag to the bagman. I've not heard of that being done with a dyer, but alas I haven't read up too much on it.

    John
    Vermont relic hunting, one swing at a time.
    https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCG2...OLib30A/videos

  14. #14
    Quote Originally Posted by BTV Digger View Post
    Were they trying to make a salt shaker lid for the coin at lower right? Sounds crazy, but honestly not off the table after reading about all of their uses!

    John
    I have no idea about that one, John ...if I recall correctly its an American coin.
    On Instagram- oxshoedrew

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