1821 Matron Head Coronet Head Cent - Brunk R-163, H. Rees

Coin Details

Description

This 1821 Matron Head Coronet Head Cent bears a merchant counterstamp attributed to H. Rees, cataloged as Brunk R-163. Counterstamps were applied to circulating coins by merchants, silversmiths, and tradesmen as a form of portable advertising — the business card of early America. The H. Rees stamp was punched into the coin after it left the Mint, repurposing it as a merchant advertising piece. The host coin is an 1821 cent from the Matron Head Coronet Head Cents 1816-1835 series. The Philadelphia Mint struck 389,000 large cents dated 1821. Struck in copper, weighing 10.89 grams, 28 mm in diameter. Cataloged as PCGS #936325. 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and Canadian Countermarked Coins" sit at the intersection of numismatics and Americana — each piece is a primary-source historical document of early American commerce.