1862 Rupee with countermark

Started by guamit, May 11, 2019, 01:55:45 PM

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guamit

Hi all,

I came across this coin which is 1862 Victoria Rupee countermarked with initials A.D

I have never come across or heard about such countermarks on any denomination of the British India currency. Have you heard or seen something like this earlier?

Thank you!

Amit

Figleaf

This is a private countermark, so I will move your post to the appropriate board. It is unlikely that there is any documentary evidence about it. The only thing that can be said about it is that you need a punch to make it this way. Not everyone has access to it. One possibility is that it was marked by a British soldier who wanted a souvenir of his time in India.

Peter
An unidentified coin is a piece of metal. An identified coin is a piece of history.

guamit

Got it, Peter. Thank you!

In terms of value, would this be any more valuable than the base coin itself?

Best,
Amit

Figleaf

It depends who you are selling to. Some collectors would consider it the sort of countermark they want for their collection. Others would consider the coin "damaged". Someone called Andrew Davidson might like it even if he's not a collector. ;)

Peter
An unidentified coin is a piece of metal. An identified coin is a piece of history.

brandm24

These initials-only countermarks are very difficult to attribute for obvious reasons, Amit. Unless it can be matched to a known piece, the identification of AD is nearly impossible. It's possibly a logo of some sort, but more likely just a person's initials...why not Andrew Davidson? :)

This may have been struck with a small prepared punch rather than with individual ones. The initials are well aligned as one would expect from a professionally cut stamp, but careful application with individual punches can be nearly as precise. Nice coin and stamp though. Thanks for posting it.

Bruce
Always Faithful