Lot 1848

Bright silver surfaces with considerable lustre and very light gold toning. The reverse has a small raised area representing a minor disturbance from the counterstamp, as does every example seen to date. A pleasing example of this intriguing issue.

Only E and L counterstamps are known to this cataloguer, and these appear only on 1815 B-1 quarters and 1825/3 B-2 quarters. Other letters have been reported, notably R and M, however, none have been seen.

These counterstamps have been known for many years, however, the source of these counterstamps, and similar examples with an "L" counterstamp, is not known. There have been many conjectures over the years. An early hypothesis was that these represented Excess or Light weight coins. Of course, Walter Breen correctly noted that such coins could not be legally issued. Additionally, two high-grade examples with E counterstamp (and nearly all such coins known are higher grades) weighed 106 grains and 103.5 grains, thus disproving this suggestion. Breen conjectured that these may have been school prizes for English and Latin, however, as no documentation exists, this seems to be a "stretch." Numerous other hypothesis have also been stated, although none to date are supported by documentation.

It has been suggested that these coins were counterstamped while still resting in the reverse die. Most examples show very slight disturbance of the reverse opposite the counterstamp, suggesting that they were actually counterstamped after being removed from the die. Walter Breen stated that the reverse was not disturbed, however, his observations were incorrect in this regard. However, as the known counterstamps can be neatly segregated by die varieties, this indicates that they were counterstamped in quantity before such pieces were generally distributed.

A number of examples were found in western Pennsylvania, eastern Ohio, and the north peninsula of West Virginia from 1968 to 1972. Coin dealer Dale Harrington (Walter Breen incorrectly listed his first name as Gale) found or knew of several dozen pieces uncovered during those years. This writer (Mark Borckardt) recalls seeing many of these at eastern Ohio coin shows during the early 1970s, as I began my numismatic career.

Numerous articles have been published, in the Journal and elsewhere, regarding these issues. In Volume 6, Issue 2 of the IJournal,I Larry Blackwelder provided the facts about these pieces.

The known facts are easily stated (these from Mark Borckardt and not from the above referenced article):

1. They were done IoutsideI of the Mint, or at least after being struck if counterstamped within the Mint. (Some will take exception to this "fact," however, the reverse of every example I have examined does show very slight disturbance).

2. Only coins with E and L counterstamps are actually known.

3. These counterstamps only appear on 1815 B-1 and 1825 B-2 quarter dollars.

4. The E counterstamps are directly over the center of Liberty's cap. The L counterstamps are left of center over Liberty's cap.

5. The two punches appear to be the same, regardless of year (however, this needs further verification.)

6. Nearly all known examples are on coins of relatively high circulated grades or full Mint State.

There are many questions surrounding these wonderful and mysterious counterstamped coins. I believe that any hypothesis suggesting the coins were counterstamped to indicate some Mint process should be ruled out. However, the fact that they are only known on two specific die varieties, and these varieties were minted a decade apart, is fascinating. Assuming that some 1815 quarter dollars may have been struck in 1818 or even 1819 still leaves a gap of several years. Bradley Karoleff had suggested that the 1815 dies were resurrected for use in 1825. Given Mint procedures at the time, this is not stretching the imagination too far, in my opinion.

Dave Bowers suggests that perhaps these pieces were counterstamped soon after they were minted, and were intended for a specific destination or use in commerce for which such a notation would serve to identify them.

I have not formed any conclusions regarding these treasures. I do wonder, however, if anyone has taken the time to compare the punch used with any other counterstamps by known makers. If a match could be made, we would be closer to the answer.