1810 Classic Head Cent - 10/09 Brunk L-489 J.J. Loomis

Coin Details

Description

This 1810 Classic Head Cent - 10/09 bears a merchant counterstamp attributed to J.J. Loomis, cataloged as Brunk L-489. Counterstamps were applied to circulating coins by merchants, silversmiths, and tradesmen as a form of portable advertising — the business card of early America. The J.J. Loomis stamp identifies a business operating in Loomis, one of many merchants who used coin counterstamping to advertise their trade. The host coin is a 1810 cent from the Classic Head Cents 1808-1814 series. The host coin's original mintage was 1.5 million, though counterstamped examples represent only a tiny fraction of survivors. Struck in copper, weighing 10.89 grams, 28 mm in diameter. Cataloged as PCGS #934599. Counterstamped coins documented in Gregory G. Brunk's "American and Canadian Countermarked Coins" sit at the intersection of numismatics and Americana — each piece is a primary-source historical document of early American commerce. The counterstamp adds a unique layer of provenance that distinguishes this coin from all other examples of its type.