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tmaring
Penny Collector Member
USA
302 Posts |
 Posted - 04/21/2008 : 20:50:22
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I just wanted to let people know about a project to bring back the time-honored tradition of political counterstamping on coins. The new Jefferson portrait (2006-present) in perfectly situated to one side so that you can insert a word balloon of your choice. The space is small so you have to choose your words carefully... every character counts.
Here is a counterstamp that is now in production. So far two full boxes and about another half box are in circulation... so about 5000 pieces are currently "out there"
I get them from the guy who makes them and spread them around in my travels. There are about a hundred other people doing this also... from east to west coast, Florida to Alaska, a few have even made it to Europe. It's a great conversation starter. A surprising number of people just accept it as another new nickel.
If anybody spots one of these in change, I would be amused to hear about where it was.
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Edited by - tmaring on 04/21/2008 20:52:51 |
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kavajava
Penny Collector Member
USA
490 Posts |
Posted - 07/07/2008 : 14:36:17
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| I'll keep a lookout for them--kind of cool-- |
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n/a
deleted
54 Posts |
Posted - 07/30/2008 : 21:52:38
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| How can I get a couple myself? |
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redneck
1000+ Penny Miser Member
1273 Posts |
Posted - 07/31/2008 : 05:47:50
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| I would definitely like a few ...! |
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tmaring
Penny Collector Member
USA
302 Posts |
Posted - 07/31/2008 : 21:10:05
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| I just heard from somebody in St Petersburg FL that found one of the counterstamped nickels in change... started researching it online... located the references on this board... and contacted me through ebay to report the sighting. That's the first one! Cool! |
Tom Maringer
Shire Post Mint
Springdale, Arkansas |
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daviscfad
1000+ Penny Miser Member
USA
1664 Posts |
Posted - 07/31/2008 : 23:23:02
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I have an older LMC counterstamped with kennedy on it
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Inquiring minds want to know |
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kavajava
Penny Collector Member
USA
490 Posts |
Posted - 08/02/2008 : 22:43:54
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quote:
Originally posted by tmaring
I just heard from somebody in St Petersburg FL that found one of the counterstamped nickels in change... started researching it online... located the references on this board... and contacted me through ebay to report the sighting. That's the first one! Cool!
That's cool Tom! Still none here--probably more elusive than the wild indians... |
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JerrySpringer
Penny Hoarding Member
669 Posts |
Posted - 08/04/2008 : 18:39:50
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| Can we get website URLs stamped on them too? You know, sites like ronpaul.com ? |
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tmaring
Penny Collector Member
USA
302 Posts |
Posted - 08/05/2008 : 10:48:41
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| That's easy... the trick is that the dies for the two sides must be the same size and shape and be well aligned. On this counterstamp a great deal of thought was put into coming up with the most concise way of writing the message... and laying it out into a roughly circular shape. ronpaul.com would be more of a linear shape (you can't break it up into multiple lines without obscuring what it is)... and therefore the message on the opposite side would need a similar layout. |
Tom Maringer
Shire Post Mint
Springdale, Arkansas |
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tmaring
Penny Collector Member
USA
302 Posts |
Posted - 09/10/2008 : 09:30:03
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Just got back from a claimstaking adventure in Nevada. Tired of the smell of sagebrush right now.
Along the way I slipped a total of three rolls of counterstamped nickels into circulation. A few of the places: Tucumcari NM, Santa Fe NM, Durango CO, Mesa Verde NP CO, Cortez CO, Monticello UT, Canyonlands NP UT, Arches NP UT, Goblin Valley SP UT, Moab UT, Spanish Fork UT, Elko NV, Wild Horse NV, Salt Lake City UT, Grand Junction CO, Gunnison CO, Pueblo CO, Garden City KS, Forgan OK, Siloam Springs AR.
Reactions were varied. If people noticed it was something like: "Oh... this must be the new one."
Keep an eye on your change... they're floating around out there. |
Edited by - tmaring on 09/10/2008 09:32:12 |
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PennySaved
1000+ Penny Miser Member
USA
1720 Posts |
Posted - 06/26/2010 : 21:01:56
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| I just found one of these except the one I found has an eagle on the reverse and "no oil war" on the obverse |
SELLING COPPER PENNIES 1.4X FACE SHIPPED......“I sincerely believe that banking establishments are more dangerous than standing armies, and that the principles of spending money to be paid by posterity, under the name of funding, is but swindling futurity on a large scale” Thomas Jefferson |
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PreservingThePast
1000+ Penny Miser Member
USA
1572 Posts |
Posted - 06/27/2010 : 13:08:31
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Cool!
Would it be possible to post a photo of the one you found?
Enjoy your coin searches, everyone.  |
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wolvesdad
1000+ Penny Miser Member
USA
2164 Posts |
Posted - 06/27/2010 : 23:28:52
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never saw this the first time. i bet many ppl keep them....which is why i don't know of anyone finding one.
looking forward to the pic of yours!!!! |
"May your percentages ever increase!" |
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Lemon Thrower
1000+ Penny Miser Member
USA
1588 Posts |
Posted - 06/29/2010 : 13:00:07
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| bump. |
Buying:
Peace/Morgan G+ at $15.00
copper cents at 1.3X
wheat pennies at 3X
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tmaring
Penny Collector Member
USA
302 Posts |
Posted - 07/07/2010 : 09:08:11
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quote:
Originally posted by PennySaved
I just found one of these except the one I found has an eagle on the reverse and "no oil war" on the obverse
Good one! That was actually an earlier version. I only made about 200 of those when the eagle die broke. So that's actually much scarcer than the NO MORE LIES version. The experience of the NO OIL WAR counterstamp showed that the two dies needed to be very close to the exact same size to avoid distorting the shape of the nickel too much. I wanted them to still be useable in vending machines. So the two dies of the NO MORE LIES, NO MORE WAR version are very close to being the exact same size and shape. That allowed them to be set up in a press and carefully aligned so as not to bend the coin.
So... how bad is that one you found distorted?
Tom |
Tom Maringer
Shire Post Mint
Springdale, Arkansas |
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PennySaved
1000+ Penny Miser Member
USA
1720 Posts |
Posted - 07/07/2010 : 09:10:41
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Actually it is in good shape; wish I had a better camera; I may have to borrow one from a friend
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SELLING COPPER PENNIES 1.4X FACE SHIPPED......“I sincerely believe that banking establishments are more dangerous than standing armies, and that the principles of spending money to be paid by posterity, under the name of funding, is but swindling futurity on a large scale” Thomas Jefferson |
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PennySaved
1000+ Penny Miser Member
USA
1720 Posts |
Posted - 07/07/2010 : 09:11:11
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| By the way, what does the "no oil war" message mean? |
SELLING COPPER PENNIES 1.4X FACE SHIPPED......“I sincerely believe that banking establishments are more dangerous than standing armies, and that the principles of spending money to be paid by posterity, under the name of funding, is but swindling futurity on a large scale” Thomas Jefferson |
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tmaring
Penny Collector Member
USA
302 Posts |
Posted - 07/07/2010 : 14:38:25
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I looked around and found the box. Looks like I still have about 20 of the NO OIL WAR/eagle nickels and about 120 of the NO MORE LIES, NO MORE WAR nickels. If anybody wants one just email me privately, they're a buck apiece, but limit of two on the rarer one.
quote:
Originally posted by PennySaved
By the way, what does the "no oil war" message mean?
Okay... I thought it was pretty obvious but I'll tell you what it means to me and why I did it. First of all... when designing a counterstamp you need to be as concise as possible... use the minimum number of characters to say what you mean. It would be great to write a paragraph... but there's just no room. So NO OIL WAR... eight characters and two spaces. It would have been clearer to say NO WAR FOR OIL... but that was too much. It's a political statement, a protest against the practice of our government to extend military imperialist power to capture natural resources belonging to other sovereign states. I consider it geopolitically self-evident that we are in the Middle East for one purpose and one purpose only, which is to secure oil supplies. We are fed pablum and drum-beats to whip us into a frenzy of outrage over this or that... but the bottom line is that we have created a society which is utterly dependant on oil. Our government knows that it will fall if the people are not kept amused with bread and circuses, so they fritter away the last of our wealth (as well as sacrificing our sons and daughters) to scoop the last few barrels oil from the reserves of the middle east to keep us happy. It's a war for oil and I think it's disgusting and outrageous. Thus I reinstated the old tradition of stamping my opinions on a piece of circulating coinage.
So there it is, for good or ill... that's what it means.
Here's a pic of it.
Tom |
Tom Maringer
Shire Post Mint
Springdale, Arkansas |
Edited by - tmaring on 07/07/2010 15:21:30 |
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TXBullion
Penny Collector Member
374 Posts |
Posted - 07/07/2010 : 15:15:39
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| Thanks for elaborating, I was under the presumption that it pertained to the oil spill in the gulf. Either way i still thing its real cool. Thanks tmaring |
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PennySaved
1000+ Penny Miser Member
USA
1720 Posts |
Posted - 07/07/2010 : 15:28:48
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| Well I feel lucky that I found one :-) |
SELLING COPPER PENNIES 1.4X FACE SHIPPED......“I sincerely believe that banking establishments are more dangerous than standing armies, and that the principles of spending money to be paid by posterity, under the name of funding, is but swindling futurity on a large scale” Thomas Jefferson |
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tmaring
Penny Collector Member
USA
302 Posts |
Posted - 07/07/2010 : 16:09:45
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quote:
Originally posted by TXBullion
Thanks for elaborating, I was under the presumption that it pertained to the oil spill in the gulf. Either way i still thing its real cool. Thanks tmaring
Oh! No... I started doing these when the 2006 nickels were still fresh... back in the Bush years... before anybody ever even DREAMED of an oil volcano erupting in the gulf. That's a whole 'nuther thing!
By the way... these little counterstamps are pretty easy to do. I little #2 arbor press would be plenty of force. I was hoping to inspire a whole raft of people to start doing similar things. The NO OIL WAR dies are broken... but the NO MORE LIES/NO MORE WAR dies are still in production at a secret location on the west coast... more than 5000 pieces in circulation now and growing. It can't be stopped!
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Tom Maringer
Shire Post Mint
Springdale, Arkansas |
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PennySaved
1000+ Penny Miser Member
USA
1720 Posts |
Posted - 07/07/2010 : 16:31:33
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Have you heard back from many people finding your nickels?
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SELLING COPPER PENNIES 1.4X FACE SHIPPED......“I sincerely believe that banking establishments are more dangerous than standing armies, and that the principles of spending money to be paid by posterity, under the name of funding, is but swindling futurity on a large scale” Thomas Jefferson |
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tmaring
Penny Collector Member
USA
302 Posts |
Posted - 07/07/2010 : 20:57:05
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| No, not many at all. Mostly because this is the only place that I've "outed" myself as the maker. I have google searched and found some other forums where people are asking for expert opinions about them... but nobody has a clue. It's all very below-the-radar. |
Tom Maringer
Shire Post Mint
Springdale, Arkansas |
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TXBullion
Penny Collector Member
374 Posts |
Posted - 07/07/2010 : 22:04:17
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Thanks for giving us the honor and letting us know the story behind them  |
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tmaring
Penny Collector Member
USA
302 Posts |
Posted - 07/09/2010 : 09:43:05
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.... just talked to the person who currently has the NO MORE LIES/NO MORE WAR dies. He is willing to strike up more if there is anybody else who would like to participate in the project of slipping them into circulation. They are distributed to participants in standard $2 face value rolls of 40 pieces for the minimal charge of $10/roll.
By the way... I sent a free roll to John Edwards (former presidential candidate) and actually got a letter from him thanking me for the nickels. This was while he was still a credible candidate and long BEFORE the revelations about his (ahem) lies and indiscretions. I had pledged to materially support any candidate who would publicly endorse the NO MORE LIES movement by providing them with mass quantities of counterstamped coins to distribute. Not a single candidate has accepted the offer. Think about it! Not one! |
Tom Maringer
Shire Post Mint
Springdale, Arkansas |
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TXBullion
Penny Collector Member
374 Posts |
Posted - 07/09/2010 : 09:48:36
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| tmaring,sounds like a good idea for any member who might be interested. Just stay away from the ones who hoard nickels They wouldnt be able to spend them in circualtion, probably not even the "ugly toms" |
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Counterstamped 2006 Nickels
Forum Locked
