S mark on Mercury dime

[Joshystyle]

I found this 1939 mercury dime a few days ago and there is a rather large S imprint on the front. Now obviously I know this isn't a mint mark but does anyone have an idea of why it would be on there? Thanks for looking

 

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[Diggin-N-Dumps]

Hey man!....It Looks like a Counter Stamp. I found a half dollar coin roll hunting with one before...Great find!

 

[SCDigginWithAK]

I found this 1939 mercury dime a few days ago and there is a rather large S imprint on the front. Now obviously I know this isn't a mint mark but does anyone have an idea of why it would be on there? Thanks for looking

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Maybe a counter stamp for a store

 

[SCDigginWithAK]

Hey man!....It Looks like a Counter Stamp. I found a half dollar coin roll hunting with one before...Great find!

We posted at the exact time!

 

[Joshystyle]

Ok, I'm new to the metal detecting scene so I have to ask, what's a counter stamp?

 

[cti4sw]

Counterstamps were ways for established banks and businesses to verify the weight of currency. By stamping it, they were essentially "guaranteeing" the weight as per their measurement/scale. Some individuals are also known to have counterstamped coins, probably for the same reason. Seems to me that counterstamping has always existed (biting silver & gold coins to ensure purity was one form - if the bite didn't leave a mark, it wasn't as pure as it should have been) but grew increasingly popular in the latter third of the 1800s, when the silver content of US coins was reduced.

You can also find counterstamps on copper coins too, on occasion. I'm pretty sure this was just a verification of authenticity rather than metal content. A penny could buy a good bit back in the day, so counterfeits weren't totally unheard of. These days you can find any denomination of change in the gutter so it's not worth the time or effort to fake them.

 

[SCDigginWithAK]

Counterstamps were ways for established banks and businesses to verify the weight of currency. By stamping it, they were essentially "guaranteeing" the weight as per their measurement/scale. Some individuals are also known to have counterstamped coins, probably for the same reason. Seems to me that counterstamping has always existed (biting silver & gold coins to ensure purity was one form - if the bite didn't leave a mark, it wasn't as pure as it should have been) but grew increasingly popular in the latter third of the 1800s, when the silver content of US coins was reduced.

You can also find counterstamps on copper coins too, on occasion. I'm pretty sure this was just a verification of authenticity rather than metal content. A penny could buy a good bit back in the day, so counterfeits weren't totally unheard of. These days you can find any denomination of change in the gutter so it's not worth the time or effort to fake them.

Couldn't have said it better!

 

[Joshystyle]

Thanks for the response, ya learn something new everyday...