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Camp David Countermark
JohnnyCache
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Browsing eBay I came across this peace dollar with a countermark memorializing the peace summit at Camp David. I have not seen this type of countermark used before and was wondering if it was produced as some kind of keepsake/curiosity piece sold to the public as a gimmick or just what it was?
JC
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That is a piece done by Mel Wacks and Adam Cool - perhaps the most famous one in their series. The series is reasonably popular in the numismatic community and some sell for fairly high premiums. Adam passed away a while back and new ones in the series are made by Mel and Chris Beck.
You can find more info by searching for "Mel Wacks counterstamp"
Some good info is available here:
Thanks Zoins, that was rather interesting to read about. I'm surprised with so many styles of countermarks produced by Mel Wacks that I've never come across one before. Thank you again for the education.
Charles III Album
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I've bought and sold several of these over the years. Looks like prices have really increased.
There were a total of a thousand pieces made.
Several of these are described in the "Guide Book of Peace Dollars"
https://forums.collectors.com/discussion/comment/9202587#Comment_9202587
An old thread from 6 years ago where DNADave mentions these can be had for $30-$50 sometimes, more often though it's around $80. Looks like those days are gone!
New collectors, please educate yourself before spending money on coins; there are people who believe that using numismatic knowledge to rip the naïve is what this hobby is all about.
Wow! The prices of these have really increased in the last few years!
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This raw one is a lot cheaper.
ebay.com/itm/1922-Camp-David-Peace-Silver-Dollar-1-Counterstamp-Nice-BU-MS-UNC-Rare-/142229845370?hash=item211d8f357a:g:LL8AAOSwMVdYG-aK
The one the OP linked didn't sell.
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Don
That one is $365.00 but has a pretty pronounced bulge on the opposite side of the counterstamp.
Here's a raw one for $435.00 that looks a bit better to me, at least in the bulge area.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/1923-Camp-David-Peace-Silver-Dollar-1-Counterstamp-Nice-BU-MS-UNC-Rare-/142231100834?hash=item211da25da2:g:bCoAAOSw65FXumlE
The Mel Wacks Camp David Peace Dollars on eBay lately have been a bit overpriced in my opinion. I've bought/sold maybe 20 of these in the last few years and most sold have been in the $200-$250 range. Sold a few for less and sold a few nicely toned ones for more.
Lots of cool Mel Wacks counterstamped pieces out there and you'll even see Mel at some of the major shows like the ANA World's Fair of Money. Was able to get some of his latest pieces directly from him at the recent ANA show in Anaheim. A couple years ago at one of the Chicago ANA shows I bought some of his older counterstamps from him too.
Here's a link to the page maintained by Mel Wacks with all of his counterstamps, up through his most recent 2016 400th Anniversary of Hogge Money pieces (see page 5 of his site), which were the ones I bought from him at the Anaheim ANA:
amuseum.org/jahf/wacks-counterstamps.html
I try to bring duplicates I have with me to the Long Beach shows as his work has certainly grown in popularity in recent years, but I still do not think the $300-$500+ prices of the Camp David Peace Dollars on eBay are realistic... if so, I'll be selling mine too cheap I guess
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You could have bought this one last month for $215
It's been 38 years since the Camp David Accord, but peace hasn't been achieved yet.
Those are nice political pieces, however, IMO, not worth those prices. Cheers, RickO