Argentina 1878 2 centavos KM-E2
In the late 1870's as news spread that the government of Argentina was going to embark on a national coinage for the first time since 1837, mint salesmen leaped into action. Dozens of patterns, essais and piedforts were made to lure coinage contracts. This one and its accompanying one centavo were made, probably at Paris or Brussels. This specimen was lot 70084 in Stack's Bowers Collector's Choice sale (Costa Mesa, CA, October 2021), where it sold for $95. The catalog description[1] noted, "ARGENTINA. Copper 2 Centavos Essai (Pattern), 1878. NGC AU-58. A rich chocolate color with some original mint brilliance remaining. A charming example of a popular pattern issue." The second specimen was lot 32427 in Heritage sale 3064 (Chicago, April 2018), where it sold for $360. The catalog description[1] noted, "Republic copper Specimen Essai 2 Centavos 1878 SP65 Red and Brown PCGS, A fully-struck Essai issue, which exhibits a slight iridescence and a beautiful progression of obverse color."
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: copper or bronze.
Catalog reference: KM-E2.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1801-1900, 9th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
- Janson, Hector Carlos, La Moneda Circulante En El Territorio Argentino, 1574-2015, Buenos Aires, 2015.
- [1]Orsini, Matt, Kyle Ponterio and Jeremy Bostwick, The October 2021 Collector's Choice sale: World and Ancient Coins, Costa Mesa, CA: Stack's Bowers LLC, 2021.
- [2]Cristiano Bierrenbach and Warren Tucker, Heritage World Coin Auction 3064, featuring the Doug Robins Collection of Canadian Tokens, Dallas, TX: Heritage Auction Galleries, 2018.
Link to: