AboutKevin Av Expertise I can answer most world coin questions in general 1800s and later, and specialize in Canadian and British commonwealth coins. However, I do not deal with gold coins, errors, tokens and medallions, or paper money in general, and will politely turn down most questions regarding such.
Experience 8 years in world coins, 11 years in Canadian.
Expert: Kevin Av Date: 7/15/2008 Subject: 1854 engraved quarter dollar
Question I have an 1854 quarter dollar engraved with "SMOKE OP SHATTUCKS CIGARS" on the face. It is worn considerably. What are these worth and what do you know about this practice of advertising? My great grandmother said that during the civil war days every politician during the period always smoked and walked with cigars.
Answer Hi Glenn,
To be honest, I don't know - but I'll try to help as best I can:
Your piece actually belongs to the category "exonumia" - coin related items which fall outside the usual coin and paper money collected by numismatists. Exonumia is kind of a scary place for some collectors and dealers as some items are one-off, and thus might be hard to identify and/or put a value on. There is also tons of privately issued medallions, tokens, and advertising pieces, making it impossible to track everything. For non-collectors (usually the general public), some are frustrated that they have something which can't be found in a catalogue anywhere.
In the early 19th century, coins (usually the low demonination bronze pennies or cents) were sometimes counterstamped with a merchant's name. This occured in the U.S., Britain, and Canada, if not other places. Most of these counterstamped coins have been catalogued by specialist collectors and researchers of such items. Such pieces usually sell for at least $20, even if the host coin itself is only worth a dollar or two.
In the late 19th century (Victorian era), coins were popular as jewelery - necklaces and bracelets made of smaller silver coins were common. Sometimes a person would have one side of a (usually dime or quarter) removed, and have a name of a loved one engraved on it. These are often quite lovely works of art, and usually sell for $5-20 depending on the name (if the name is still popular today, then all the better), the style of the engraving (pretty and elegant, or rather plain looking?), and the coin itself (usually not important unless it's a rarity).
So getting back to your piece, it's the first time I've heard of an coin having an ad engraved onto it. I would guess that it would at the very least be worth $50, if not $100. You might want to try googling "exonumia" and "advertising" and see if you might find something simular. I'm sure you'll find people with expertise in advertising pieces who can help you better than I can.
