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 identifies a business operating in Rees, one of many merchants who used coin counterstamping to advertise their trade. The host coin is a 1821 cent from the Matron Head Coronet Head Cents 1816-1835 series. The host coin's original mintage was 389,000, though counterstamped examples represent only a tiny fraction of survivors. 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and Canadian Countermarked Coins" sit at the intersection of numismatics and Americana — each piece is a primary-source historical document of early American commerce. The counterstamp adds a unique layer of provenance that distinguishes this coin from all other examples of its type.