1826 Matron Head Coronet Head Cent - Brunk M-247 J. Martin Faye N.C

Coin Details

Description

This 1826 Matron Head Coronet Head Cent bears a merchant counterstamp attributed to J. Martin Faye N.C, cataloged as Brunk M-247. 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. Martin Faye N.C stamp was punched into the coin after it left the Mint, repurposing it as a merchant advertising piece. The host coin is a 1826 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 #889251. 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and Canadian Countermarked Coins" sit at the intersection of numismatics and Americana — each piece is a primary-source historical document of early American commerce.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.