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                                              Exhibit 23




                    Consent of PricewaterhouseCoopers, L.L.P.



The Board of Directors
FirstMerit Corporation


         We consent to incorporation by reference in Registration Statement Nos.
33-7266, 33-47074, 33-47147, 33-57076, 33-57557, 333-57439, 33- 63101 and
333-63797 on Forms S-8, of (i) our report dated March 11, 1999, relating to the
supplemental consolidated balance sheets of FirstMerit Corporation and
subsidiaries as of December 31,1998 and 1997, and the related supplemental
consolidated statements of income, shareholders' equity, and cash flows for each
of the years in the three year period ended December 31, 1998, which report
appears as Exhibit 99 to the 1998 Annual Report on Form 10-K of FirstMerit
Corporation (ii) our report dated April 10, 1999, relating to the Statements of
Net Assets Available for Plan Benefits of Employee Stock Purchase Plan at
December 31, 1998 and 1999 and the Statements of Changes in Net Assets Available
for Plan Benefits for the years then ended; and (iii) our report dated April 10,
1999, relating to the Statements of Net Assets Available for Plan Benefits of
Employees' Salary Savings Retirement Plan at December 31, 1998 and 1997, and the
Statement of Changes in Net Assets Available for Plan Benefits for the period
ended December 31, 1998; all of such reports appear in Amendment No. 1 to the
1998 annual report on Form 10-K of FirstMerit Corporation.



/s/ PricewaterhouseCoopers, L.L.P.

April 23, 1998