as you can see the coin is very worn, but the mark is still clear. the stamp was clearly hand made, and I would love to know who, what, when, or why this was done and how much it might be worth?
Thanks so much for your help
Taking a break from swapping for a while, but still interested in pre 1799 Spanish coins, I will make time for that!
1st it is a cartwheel penny, of 1797 or around that date. The countermark could suggest that it was taken somewhere else (away from Britain) but still had its avoir du pois value of copper, thus an exchange could be made. Maybe this occured in France...RF...Republic Francaise. All just a guess apart from the cartwheel penny. I have little knowledge about countermarking and I have seen a William IIII coin countermarked SB and a cartwheel penny stamped across Brittania with a curved piece of metal.
Quote: redsmithstudiosI hope some one is familiar with counter struck coins, I have just now learned about them after receiving one in a lot of coins. Its a https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces947.html
as you can see the coin is very worn, but the mark is still clear. the stamp was clearly hand made, and I would love to know who, what, when, or why this was done and how much it might be worth?
Thanks so much for your help
I just talked to a friend who collects countermarked coins. He said that it may belong to the Russell & Erwin Manufacturing Company that operated in New Britain Connecticut, USA from early 1800s to 1902. This company manufactured door knobs that are now collector items. The following Russel & Erwin door knob sold for $3600.00 in 1996 and a few years later another like it sold for $8000.00
The reason I asked is because, in concurrence with Coinsoldier's opinion, I think this has to be an American countermark. Being a British coin, it would have been readily accepted without countermarking in Britain's colonies. Additionally, it would have been no use in Spanish or French colonies of the time as their coinage was well-circulated in both the New World and Africa. I doubt it would have been a non-colonial countermark of Asia, both because it uses Latin lettering and it doesn't resemble any east asian countermark I've seen before.
At the time, in the United States, coinage was still very limited. Ony about 6-10 million American pennies would have been in circulation in the US in 1800, and many of those would have been stuck in a "circulation loop" between merchants, consumers, and suppliers, and would not have been available in great quantities to "average joe". Most transactions, especially on the frontier, took the form of barter or credit transactions. I would imagine that in New England, where access to British coins would have been easy due to proximity with Canada, in some frontier spots countermarked British coins could have served as de facto currency.
I am unclear about whether or not this would be a Russell & Erwin countermark, as I know relatively little about them. The following website lists them as a known countermarker, however:
Quote: redsmithstudiosWow, thanks CoinSolder, how would I find out more about this?
Tewcd, I got it in a bulk coin bucket I bought from a guy in Greenville SC, I have tried to contact him since but he will not respond.
I sent your photos to my friend. He said it cerainly looks like a Russell & Erwin countermark. He is very much an expert in the area of countermarked coins. He has hundreds of them and have been collecting them and studing them for about 25 years. He did say that countermarks are often counterfeited, but his best guess is that it is genuine based on the photos.
Well, it seems that Russell Erwin is most likely from what you guys are suggesting, Thanks for all your help. I am sure its not fake because no one would make a fake just to toss it in with a bulk lot.
Coinsolder, do you mind asking your friend for an idea on value?
It it a very interesting stamp because you can see how it was hand made, all the lines are a bit different and the letters don't quite line up. So would this have been "paid" to employees to use in the company store? This is a very interesting coin.
Taking a break from swapping for a while, but still interested in pre 1799 Spanish coins, I will make time for that!
Quote: redsmithstudiosWell, it seems that Russell Erwin is most likely from what you guys are suggesting, Thanks for all your help. I am sure its not fake because no one would make a fake just to toss it in with a bulk lot.
Coinsolder, do you mind asking your friend for an idea on value?
It it a very interesting stamp because you can see how it was hand made, all the lines are a bit different and the letters don't quite line up. So would this have been "paid" to employees to use in the company store? This is a very interesting coin.
These are fairly common. However you have a very good grade example. The value is in the range of $5.00 to $10.00
