Counterstamped Copper Coin?

[romeo-1]

I found this last night in the same area where I have found several early 19th century tokens and buttons. I believe that it is a coin but there are no distinguishing marks on it with the exception of the mark seen in the first picture. It looks like an "MI". The weird thing is that it is stamped into the coin. In fact it was stamed so hard that it actually bowed the coin. The second picture is of the reverse but I cannot see anything on this.

I have checked my book on Canadian Colonial Tokens (thanks PBK) but have found no mention of stamped copper tokens or coins. Anyone have any clues?

 

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[PBK]

Re: Stamped Copper Coin?

In the 19th century it was a common practice to countermark obsolete, badly worn, &/or foreign coins to convert them to merchant tokens. The best reference for them is Merchant and Privately Countermarked Coins by Gregory G. Brunk; however, this particular mark doesn't seem to be listed.

Since the initials are in a square cartouche like a hallmark, it's also possible that the coin was used as a test piece by a stamp maker or silversmith. (The size is a bit large for a test strike of a jeweler's hallmark.) One silversmith who sometimes used an [M I] mark was Munson Jarvis of New Brunswick, Canada, and later Stamford, Connecticut. However, I have not seen this exact mark attributed to him:

http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~silversmiths/55/34643.htm

 

[romeo-1]

Re: Stamped Copper Coin?

Thanks PBK...I also found this webpage referring to the practice of the French regime counterstamping their coins but there is no mention of this particular stamp. It is interested how when they did stamp their coins they created the same bow. Due to the area that this was found, Acadian settlement, the information is plausible...

...food for thought!

http://www.coins.nd.edu/ColCoin/ColCoinIntros/French.intro.html

 

[lordmarcovan]

Counterstamped for circulation in Michigan.