Botswana 1989 thebe
The republic of Botswana, landlocked in Southern Africa, was the protectorate of Bechuanaland prior to independence from Great Britain in 1966. Lacking minerals valuable on the world market, Botswana has escaped the violence afflicting its neighbors Angola, Zimbabwe and South Africa. It, unfortunately, has not escaped the ravages of AIDS. Coin denominations are thebe and pula. Pula translates as the word 'rain', a scarce commodity in this arid region. Shown is an aluminum one thebe. The reverse features a turaco bird. This specimen was lot 70151 in Stack's Bowers Collector's Choice sale (Santa Ana, CA, February 2020), where it sold for $110. The catalog description[1] noted, "BOTSWANA. Thebe, 1989. PCGS SPECIMEN-67 Gold Shield. A bright, flashy, and nearly flawless coin. The finest graded example of this type by PCGS. Ex. Kings Norton Collection." This type was struck 1976, 1981-91. This example would be worthless were it not from the Kings Norton collection of specimens.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 0.80 g, aluminum, 18.5 mm diameter.
Catalog reference: KM-3.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1901-2000, 47th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
- [1]Orsini, Matt, Richard Ponterio and Kyle Ponterio, The February 2020 Collector's Choice sale: World and Ancient Coins, Santa Ana, CA: Stack's Bowers LLC, 2020.
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