What's The Difference Between ......

Lloyd

A CounterSTAMP and a CounterMARK? (is there a difference? I think so)

Lloyd

spoon

I'm making this up, but maybe it's that one is stamped with a die whereas the other is etched into the surface??

laurentyvan

Taken from an article on the subject that I found:

Jørgen Sømod continues on the subject of countermark and
counterstamp: "Both terms should be used on official pieces,
but to a goldsmith's or engraver's test, I would use the term
counterstamp."

As a coin collector with much interest in counterstamped coins,
I have come in touch with the 'counterstamp vs. countermark'
discussion quite often. Yes, it is true that the words are mostly
used interchangeably by cataloguers. I go along with Alan
Luedeking's definition, that is, defining a counterstamp as having
an 'official' background. This is also backed by Burzio's
'Diccionario de la Moneda Hispanoamericana', in which a
clear distinction is made between a 'resello' (indeed the Spanish
equivalent to counterstamp) applied by a governmental entity and
containing some official coat of arms or state symbol, and a
'contramarca', which is more generally defined as any kind of
number, symbol, letter, or monogram, applied by individuals or
political factions for various reasons.
The definite work on counterstamps in German (Ehrend/Schreier:
Gegenstempel auf Muenzen, Speyer, 1975) does not differentiate
between counterstamps and countermarks. In German, the word is
'Gegenstempel' (old-fashioned: Kontermarke), where 'Stempel'
signifies both 'stamp' and 'die'. Ehrend/Schreier explicitly exclude
'Punzungen' (punch marks) from the vast field of counterstamps,
that is, they don't count test or validation marks, like the Chinese
chops, or assay marks like the ones found on Japanese obans or
Brasilean 'Sampex' bars.

Lloyd

Answering my own question here but it may be of interest to someone:

Krause 2003 Edition Page 25 (Paraphrased)

Basically a COUNTERMARK is made from a punch and only makes a single mark on a coin, for instance the head of George III on the Spanish 8 Reales, ie Emergency issue "Crowns". It is the equivalent of a hallmark showing that the coin is genuine and can be used for an agreed purpose.

A COUNTERSTAMP covers the whole coin and is effected from a set of dies. Carrying on the above example, this would extend to the 1804 Bank of England Dollars which wholly covered the 8 Reales. So, instead of acting like a hallmark it effectively creates a brand new coin.

Agree? I don't know but it IS the Krause definition so must carry some weight.

Lloyd

Aethelred

<< <i>Answering my own question here but it may be of interest to someone:

Krause 2003 Edition Page 25 (Paraphrased)

Basically a COUNTERMARK is made from a punch and only makes a single mark on a coin, for instance the head of George III on the Spanish 8 Reales, ie Emergency issue "Crowns". It is the equivalent of a hallmark showing that the coin is genuine and can be used for an agreed purpose.

A COUNTERSTAMP covers the whole coin and is effected from a set of dies. Carrying on the above example, this would extend to the 1804 Bank of England Dollars which wholly covered the 8 Reales. So, instead of acting like a hallmark it effectively creates a brand new coin.

Agree? I don't know but it IS the Krause definition so must carry some weight.

Lloyd >>



Thus the tiny stamps of George III's bust on an Eight Reals would be a countermark while an 1804 BOE Dollar would be a counterstamp?