1848 Cent Counterstamp "DEVINS & BOLTON / MONTREAL" (Patent Medicine, Druggists)

Description

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1848 US Large Cent
Countermarked "DEVINS & BOLTON / MONTREAL"
Canadian counterstamp on a US coin.
This is an eye-appealing example with nice color.
Pharmacist Richard John Devins founded the company in 1861 and joined forces with R. Bolton two years later. The Devins & Bolton company manufactured several secret remedies, among which were the "vegetable worm pellets". These two associates were among the founders of the Montreal Chemist Association in 1867. (Source: Musée McCord Museum).
From Holabird Western Americana Collections | Autumn Splendor Auction | 31 October 2021:
Richard John Devins was born in Montreal in 1837. Although he studied medicine at McGill University, he did not enter practice but rather devoted himself to the study of chemistry and medicine. After serving his apprenticeship with a druggist in Montreal, he established his own business in Montreal in 1861, and went into partnership with a Mr. Bolton two years later. Recognizing the value of advertising, Devins and Bolton culled from circulation vast quantities of copper and brass tokens as well as semi-official halfpennies and foreign copper tokens and coins, and then had them stamped "Devins & Bolton Montreal."
From the Library and Archives Canada | March 29, 2004:
Counterstamps have long been used on coins and tokens to indicate a change in issuing authority or in value, to convey political statements or simply to advertise a business or its products. The most prolific issuer of counterstamped pieces in 19th century Canada was Devins and Bolton, a firm of chemists and druggists in Montreal. This firm operated very successfully from 1863 until its dissolution around 1880. This was the golden age of patent medicines, and Devins and Bolton excelled in the art of advertising. Their advertisements abound in contemporary publications. In addition to their own products, such as DEVINS AND BOLTON'S PURE COD LIVER OIL AND HYPOPHOSPHITES, which had the "Consistancy [sic] of Cream, agreeable to the taste and retainable on the most delicate stomach," and CHILDREN'S CARMINATIVE CORDIAL, advertised for "Teething Pains, Loss of Sleep, Convulsions, Restlessness, Colic, Dysentry [sic], &c.," they were Canadian agents for VICHY MINERAL WATERS AND SALTS and also for "the most popular French Medicinal Preparations of the day."
Today, however, the firm is remembered not for its published advertisements, but rather for its practice of counterstamping copper coins and tokens. Devins and Bolton culled from circulation vast quantities of copper and brass tokens as well as semi-official halfpennies and foreign copper pieces, and had them stamped DEVINS & BOLTON MONTREAL. This counterstamp has been found on a large variety of coins and tokens, including Canadian colonial tokens, U.S. large cents and tokens, and miscellaneous foreign pieces. The earliest is a British halfpenny of George II dated 1748 and the latest, a Swedish ore of 1865.
Issuer: Richard John Devins & R. Bolton
Business/Profession: Patent Medicines, Druggists, Chemists
Date of issue: 1860’s
Place of issue: Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Brunk D-320.
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