Is this a political counterstamp?

Started by brandm24, September 28, 2022, 07:25:28 PM

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brandm24

I'm in the process of bidding on this piece as part of a small lot of coins at auction.

The counterstamp is described as a political message on a very corroded Bulgarian coin. Can anyone verify if it's from Bulgaria and if so what is the message?

Many thanks.

Bruce
Bulgaria 1 (2).jpgBulgaria 2 (2).jpg 
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chrisild

#1
Seems to be Spanish. See here for example.

Don't really know anything about this ;) but the description says it is a "contramarca anarquista por la abstención electoral". Apparently anarchists suggested to abstain or not vote, in the 1930s ...

(Edit) Here is some background info about the CNT and the FAI. Note this bit: "After Lerroux's government crumbled, the 1936 elections placed the CNT at a crossroads. Opinions inside the organization were split among the supporters of abstentionism, those who wanted to allow the workers to choose whether or not to vote, or those directly advocating a vote for the Popular Front." That may well be the background of this counterstamp. You may want to do a web (image) search for cnt no votar fai to find similar ones, and the coin(s) used.

FosseWay

The host coin is also Spanish; as far as I can see, it's a 10 céntimos of 1870, Numista 2735. https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces2735.html

chrisild

#3
Quote from: FosseWay on September 28, 2022, 10:02:12 PMThe host coin is also Spanish; as far as I can see, it's a 10 céntimos of 1870, Numista 2735. https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces2735.html

Cool! Now that you mentioned it ;) this page (in Spanish) has numerous examples where that type of coin was used for counterstamps, including political ones. Apparently its size and weight led to the nickname "perra gorda" - in English: fit batch, but do some vowel swapping ...

brandm24

Great information, guys. This coin was in a small lot of other political counterstamps...UVF on an Irish coin, RATHER NOT on an English 2p, and this one.

I've always thought I'd like to add other countries political counterstamped coins to my Troubles collection because they're related in nature. I've seen a few pieces over the years but never had enough interest to do so. I think I do now.

I have quite a few US political issues most fairly contemporary but some 19th century. I think I'll incorporate them too.

Interestingly, Gavin Scott had a sizeable collection of what he called conflict coins. The collection was sold to the Fitzwilliam Museum / Cambridge several years ago. About 70 or so pieces were Troubles era but the rest were from other conflicts. I've seen pictures of some of the collection but not the vast majority.

Again, many thanks. You're input is much appreciated.

Bruce
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