1819 Matron Head Coronet Head Cent - Brunk M-611 J. Merritt. N-York

Coin Details

Description

This 1819 Matron Head Coronet Head Cent bears a merchant counterstamp attributed to J. Merritt. N-York, cataloged as Brunk M-611. 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. Merritt. N-York stamp identifies a business operating in N-York, one of many merchants who used coin counterstamping to advertise their trade. The host coin is a 1819 cent from the Matron Head Coronet Head Cents 1816-1835 series. The host coin's original mintage was 1.5 million, though counterstamped examples represent only a tiny fraction of survivors. Struck in copper. Cataloged as PCGS #889247. 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and Canadian Countermarked Coins" sit at the intersection of numismatics and Americana — each piece is a primary-source historical document of early American commerce.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.