Counterstamps

mnemtsas2

OK here's an odd question. When a coin is heavily counterstamped (or chopmarked) and the design of the coin OPPOSITE the mark is damaged / obliterated is there a numismatic name for this damaged area?

Lancastercoin

No, not a one-word term.

MrEureka

I would use "flattening", as in "some flattening on the reverse, opposite of the countermark".

mnemtsas2

OK. Being from an engineering background I'd use 'witness mark' or 'punch through' but was just wondering if there was a dedicated numismatic term for it.

mrpotatoheadd

Lancastercoin

I'm glad I remembered to look for this thread, now I can use "flattening"! Not an effect-specific term but should be useful; thanks Mr. Lustig. I wonder if I should call this one in front of me "flattened to convexity"? My wife calls them "chopped to s***" but that's more for the concave side...

As a side note, flattening makes me think of one of the first coins I ever saw repaired - from ANACS "unc details, bent" into another service's MS63.

mnemtsas2

Thanks for all the replies. The question came about because the Royal Australian Mint at a recent show in Perth had a portable coin press where you could press a button to apply a small counterstamp to a pre-minted dollar coin. You could then take said coin home. It turns out they had the pressure on the press wound up a little too high and the counterstamp left a quite strong 'punch through' or 'starburst' on the obverse of the coin. Here's the coin in question:

Andres

I see 2x punch throughs , but I see only 1 chopmark ---> P

mnemtsas2

The one in the red box is just a zoomed cut-out of the smaller one.

lordmarcovan

Cartwheel pennies don't have that problem.