1826 Capped Bust Half Dollar - Brunk B-50 J. Bower

Coin Details

Description

This 1826 Capped Bust Half Dollar bears a merchant counterstamp attributed to J. Bower, cataloged as Brunk B-50. 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. Bower stamp identifies a business operating in Bower, one of many merchants who used coin counterstamping to advertise their trade. The host coin is a 1826 dollar from the Capped Bust Half Dollars 1807-1839 series. The host coin's original mintage was 4.0 million, though counterstamped examples represent only a tiny fraction of survivors. Struck in 89.2% silver, 10.8% copper, weighing 13.5 grams, 32.5 mm in diameter. Cataloged as PCGS #934532. 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and Canadian Countermarked Coins" sit at the intersection of numismatics and Americana — each piece is a primary-source historical document of early American commerce.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.