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Originally Posted by JustinD
It’s very cool and I also think it is likely the artist initials are the PC.
I want it to be of age and the wear on the coin post engraving towards the edge would suggest so. However, the largest doubt comes from the missing T on the back. It certainly seems intentional and that makes me think it was done for legal reasons.
In US code title 18, section 331 it’s well covered that intentionally altering or mutilating coins is illegal. My guess would be the engraver did that as a “cover your ass” maneuver which seems a more modern fantasy artist thing to do.
I have no positive proof of age either way, but if I was a buyer I would lean toward fantasy piece because of that “T”. I really like and want it to be of the time, hopefully someone has some good info.
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They did not care about the U.S. Code in the 19th Century. It was quite common to take a silver coin (three cent piece, dime, quarter) and engrave it with initials and turn it into a charm, stickpin or momento to give to a sweetheart. I owned a few back in the late 1970's/early 1980's when I collected coins/currency. It was even quite common in the early 20th Century with Buffalo nickels. Just look up 'Hobo Nickels'. Wiki has an entry for them and there are quite a few images of them. If you look on ebay you will find quite a few listing for them. There you will see pennies, nickels and even Ike dollars that have been engraved.