FRANCIS LAMPSON MERRIMACK HOUSE COUNTERSTAMPS

Because of its multiple countermarks I find this to be one of the more interesting ones I've recently come across. The host coin is a Hard Times Token 158, Low 84.

It has the following seven Countermarks on one side, each in a cartouche: Boston, Lowell (stamped twice), Merrimack, House, F. Lamson, and Nashua.

On the opposite side the F. Lamson countermark appears eight separate times, again each in a cartouche.

In his definitive work on countermarks Brunk lists an F. Lamson countermark on a Hard Times Token, with additional Countermarks of Merrimack and House; and he indicates that Francis Lampson along with a J. M. Tarr were jewelers at 98 Merrimack St. in Lowell Massachusetts. (Brunk L-77).

In another listing Brunk shows another Hard Times token, by chance also a Low 84, countermarked Merrimack House and F. Lamson. (Brunk M-610). Brunk shows Merrimack House to be a business located in Lowell Massachusetts, with that piece containing two additional countermarks of the cities of Nashua and Boston.

So mystery solved. The only name of an individual on my piece is F. Lamson, who made sure his name stood out by punching it in a total of nine different times. All the other names on my piece are the names of three relevant cities- Boston, Lowell, and Nashua, and the name of a business - Merrimack House.

To read an earlier article on a multiply-counterstamped piece, see:
PARTRICK U.S. MERCHANT COUNTERSTAMP SELECTIONS : Lot 44100: Silversmith Bar Punches on Large Cent (https://www.coinbooks.org/v23/esylum_v23n51a26.html)

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