Argentina 1899 20 centavos
This specimen was lot 71331 in Stack's Bowers Collector's Choice sale (Costa Mesa, CA, February 2023), where it sold for $120. The catalog description[1] noted, "ARGENTINA. 20 Centavos, 1899. Buenos Aires Mint. PCGS AU-53. Most of the luster is still evident despite gentle circulation across the higher points. Delightful olive gray surfaces remain original and enticing, bolstering eye appeal." This specimen features Oudiné's portrait of liberty, used on the twenty centavos from 1896 to 1942, when the rising price of nickel forced the Argentine government to switch to aluminum bronze. It is accompanied by similar five and ten centavos coins. The last twenty centavos piece was struck in 1961. This type is very common in dealer junk boxes but is quite scarce in nice condition for a coin of such a low catalog value.
Recorded mintage: 840,000, a scarce date.
Specification: 4 g, copper-nickel, 21.5 mm diameter.
Catalog reference: KM-36.
- Cunietti-Ferrando, Arnaldo José, Monedas de la República Argentina, Asociación Numismática Argentina, Buenos Aires, 1965.
- 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, February 2023 World Collectors Choice Online Auction, featuring the David Sterling Collection, Costa Mesa, CA: Stack's Bowers Galleries, Inc., 2023.
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