Counterstrike on 2p

[nomadbird]

Hi

Got this coin in a jar of 2p's .  Seeing one for the first time of a counter stamp.  Please can you advise what is the significance.

Thx
Nomadbird

[andyg]

It could be almost anything,
all you need to create one yourself is a punch and a big hammer.

[FosseWay]

You used to get coins with Northern Ireland-related political statements stamped on them, e.g. "IRA" across the Queen's head. This one is much less obvious.

I once got a £10 note out of a cash machine that had Пролетарии всех стран, соединяйтесь! (Workers of the world, unite) in perfect copperplate Cyrillic written across the watermark space. A deep comment on the capitalist system? Or someone with too much time on his hands?

I've got a couple of much older stamped coins - a French 5 centimes from the 1850s with PEARS' SOAP and a Swedish 5 öre countermarked by a Danish merchant, ALLAN DAHL.

[brandm24]

I'm new to WoC and have been perusing the threads relating to countermarked / counterstamped coins since they're my main interest. Though I've mainly researched and collected US issues, in the past ten years or so I've been heavily involved with the Irish political issues...IRA, UVF, etc.

In any case, I have copies of Dr. Brunk's works on world countermarks and other references. He has a few lines on Allan Dahl that might interest you.

 His full name was Allan Aly Hendrik Dahl and he operated a business with the grandiose name of the Bureau for Permanent Advertisement...apparently, an advertising firm of some sort. He conducted business at 26 Trollesgade in Copenhagen. His years of activity were likely in the 1870's and 1880's. There are fifty or so examples documented  stamped on both Swedish and Norwegian coins, but strangely, none on Danish coins. It was probably illegal to deface Danish coins, so he struck his mark on foreign coins that circulated in Denmark at the time. Keeping one step ahead of the law, if you will.

Anyway, i hope this is of some interest to you.

Bruce

[FosseWay]

Thanks Bruce, that is indeed interesting.

And I think you are spot on when you observe that the Allan Dahl stamp only appears on Swedish and Norwegian coins - modifying Danish coins in Denmark was illegal. It's the same reason why you get British advertising stamps like Pear's Soap on French coins or on obsolete British ones (Cartwheels, for example).

[malj1]

Another book which may interest you is British Countermarks on Copper and Bronze Coins. by J. Gavin Scott 1975 although long out of print it is obtainable from time to time.

[brandm24]

I'm familiar with Scott's book, Malcolm, but don't have a copy presently. I did bid on one offered at auction several years ago, but wasn't successful.

Thanks for the link to your military token collection. While perusing it, I came across the 4th Hussars Canteen, and Aldershot  Cavalry tokens, both ones that appealed to me. Of course being a counterstamp collector, I was curious about the "John Davis" stamp applied to the 4th Hussars token. Was it common to have names applied to these tokens, or would it be just a random thing do you think?

Closely following the Aldershot piece was one that looked very familiar to me..."2 Coy. B'fast. " I recently bought a small copper disc (28mm?) marked "3 Coy. B'fast" which baffled me until now. It came in a small lot of Irish political counterstamped coins, so I assumed, as did the seller, that it was related. "Coy" I take to be an abbreviation for company, and I thought "B'fast' meant Belfast. I've seen it abbreviated that way many times before. Now, I assume that it stands for breakfast. Am I correct in my assumption?  In any case, are you aware of what military organization issued these pieces, and when they were used?

I haven't received the token yet, so don't have a picture to share. I'd appreciate any information you might have on this one, Malcolm. Thanks so much.

Bruce

[malj1]

I sent a personal message in reply.