1878 (S) Morgan Dollar - Brunk L-453 R.I. Lomas

Coin Details

Description

This 1878 (S) Morgan Dollar bears a merchant counterstamp attributed to R.I. Lomas, cataloged as Brunk L-453. Counterstamps were applied to circulating coins by merchants, silversmiths, and tradesmen as a form of portable advertising — the business card of early America. The R.I. Lomas stamp identifies a business operating in Lomas, one of many merchants who used coin counterstamping to advertise their trade. The host coin is a 1878 dollar from the Morgan Dollars 1878-1921 series. The host coin's original mintage was 4.2 million, though counterstamped examples represent only a tiny fraction of survivors. Struck in 90% silver, 10% copper. Cataloged as PCGS #541594. 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and Canadian Countermarked Coins" sit at the intersection of numismatics and Americana — each piece is a primary-source historical document of early American commerce.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.