(1833) Token HT-416, Philadelphia on 1806 50c PA

Coin Details

Description

This H. Rees counterstamp was applied to a U.S. half dollar dated 1806, one of the larger American denomination host coins in the Philadelphia blacksmith's extensive counterstamp series. The Draped Bust or Capped Bust half dollar would have been a substantial coin in the 1830s, worth fifty cents at a time when a skilled worker earned approximately one dollar per day. The counterstamping of a half dollar by a Philadelphia blacksmith represents an unusual intersection of everyday commerce and numismatic creation. Half dollars were relatively scarce in ordinary retail transactions—most daily purchases involved cents, half dimes, and dimes—so this coin came to Rees through a larger transaction such as payment for a significant blacksmithing job. The decision to counterstamp such a relatively valuable coin indicates Rees viewed the advertising value of his stamp as worth more than any potential reduction in the coin's acceptability. Henry Rees's Arch Street shop near Broad Street placed him in a transitional zone of 1830s Philadelphia. While the city's commercial core concentrated along Market, Chestnut, and Second Streets near the Delaware River, westward expansion toward Broad Street was creating new neighborhoods and new demand for the blacksmith's essential services in construction, transportation, and manufacturing.

Rarity Notes

Rare. H. Rees counterstamp on 1806 U.S. half dollar.

Cross References

Rulau HT-416