Die Stamped Victoian Penny

[Richard F]

I have a Victorian penny minted in 1890. The coin is worn and probably worth little. However, it bears a die stamp that I find intriguing. I have attached a photo of the detail. Can anybody tell me more about this type of defacement?

[Accumulator]

I have a Victorian penny minted in 1890. The coin is worn and probably worth little. However, it bears a die stamp that I find intriguing. I have attached a photo of the detail. Can anybody tell me more about this type of defacement?

Clearly the lettering has been added later, otherwise it would be worn to the same extent as the coin. It's therefore not contemporary. It's hard to tell from the photo, but I'm assuming the lettering is etched into the coin, rather than standing proud? In which case I would imagine that two sets of initials (maybe to create a love token) have been scratched into the surface of an older coin.

[Richard F]

I have a Victorian penny minted in 1890. The coin is worn and probably worth little. However, it bears a die stamp that I find intriguing. I have attached a photo of the detail. Can anybody tell me more about this type of defacement?

Clearly the lettering has been added later, otherwise it would be worn to the same extent as the coin. It's therefore not contemporary. It's hard to tell from the photo, but I'm assuming the lettering is etched into the coin, rather than standing proud? In which case I would imagine that two sets of initials (maybe to create a love token) have been scratched into the surface of an older coin.

I think it is probable that the lettering has been added later. The initials have been firmly stamped into the coin rather than etched. The grey colour in the photo is an indentation, not protruding from the surface. Under close examination the letters also have a fascinating font style as you can see - very intricate and surprisingly small

[Debbie]

Some love tokens can be made up from individual stamped letters but its unlikely to be a love token if its been counter stamped as one whole design. Love tokens are usually one off pieces and counter stamps are designed to be used to mark a number of coins. Counter stamps (as I am learning) is a whole new area of research!

[Accumulator]

Some love tokens can be made up from individual stamped letters but its unlikely to be a love token if its been counter stamped as one whole design. Love tokens are usually one off pieces and counter stamps are designed to be used to mark a number of coins. Counter stamps (as I am learning) is a whole new area of research!

I'm sure you're right Debbie. My knowledge (for what it is) doesn't extend past the coins as minted.