Counterstamp with ties to Gold Rush era?

savoyspecial

A recently discovered 1851 large cent bearing multiple counterstamps has raised some questions regarding its origin. The obverse is stamped GREGG multiple times radiating from the coin's centerpoint while the reverse carries the marks NY / NORRIS / GREGG. To even the casual numismatist, hearing the word 'Norris' coupled with 'Gregg' conjures up images of a mid-19th century west coast manufacturer of gold coins.

The history of NGN (Norris, Gregg & Norris) includes the firm becoming one of the first minters of private gold coinage in California. Prior to that, city directories of the day show Thomas H. Norris, Charles Gregg, and Hiram A. Norris as being in the plumbing and pipefitting trade at 62 Gold St. (irony anyone??) Brooklyn, NY. It should be noted that travel records dated 1849 show H.A. Norris leaving New York for California. It can be assumed this was in fact the same H.A. Norris of the Norris, Gregg & Norris firm. The first stop in California appears to have been Benicia City, a naval station near the San Francisco bay. By 1850 the minting operation had been moved into Stockton. The coins themselves were well received and when assayed were found to contain 1% more gold than a Philadelphia minted half eagle. For this reason, they all but disappeared from circulation by 1851.
1851: the date of our enigmatic large cent that started this journey. One problem I encountered during my research was that of a seemingly anachronistic inconsistency. How could a host coin dated 1851 still bear 'NY' when the assumed issuers had been in California for two years?

Well, it should be pointed out that many going west to find prosperity in the Gold Rush saw this as a temporary opportunity. Companies back east often remained open for business while their principal owners took off seeking fortune. This fact seems to be backed up by an 1851 magazine ad for the New York based Norris, Gregg & Norris Plumbing Company.
The stamp itself is from a prepared punch; similar to that which a pipefitting company might have on hand for stamping its trademark into metal during the everyday course of business. Could this counterstamped large cent we have before us be the product of mischievous workers who were left behind to tend the shop, or was it produced in the same California mint that struck the gold coins of America's famous Gold Rush?

thebeav

Is that an 1851 'S' large cent ?
It's pretty cool.....

lordmarcovan

Pretty neat, Greg(g)!

Seeing the surnames of "Norris" and "Gregg" coupled on the same counterstamp certainly make one wonder. It seems well beyond the realm of coincidence.

I had to say the "N.Y." on the reverse really looked like "N.W." to me until I pasted the image into Paint and blew it up 200% so I could see it better. It's definitely "N.Y."- I guess the period after the Y is what threw me off. Not that "N.W." would have made much sense in this context, or made any difference as far as the compelling pair of names goes.

fc

do those punches match up with anything else where they were used?
size, spacing, etc...

and where did this coin get recently discovered?

savoyspecial

fc,

it would be interesting to see if the punch characters match up with any used in the pipefitting trade by said company (assuming examples exist) and to answer you other question, it was from an Ebay auction that ended roughly 6 months ago.......around that time i shared my theory with David McCarthy, Dennis Tarrant and David Harper.......all seemed to think the attribution to Norris & Gregg was within the relm of possibility