Caracas 1817 1/4 real
The first specimen was lot 8400 in Stack's Bowers NYINC sale (New York, January 2022), where it sold for $384. The catalog description[1] noted, "VENEZUELA. Caracas. 1/4 Real, 1817. Ferdinand VII. NGC AU-55. Small Date variety on a compact planchet. Seldom seen quality, this provincial copper issue displays a slightly uneven strike with glossy surfaces that hold traces of original red color. Only a single example has been certified finer by NGC. From the Centuria Collection." This type was originally struck for local use in 1802-05. It was struck again 1813-18 by the royalists as the turmoil of the wars of independence cut off trade. The 1817 and 1818 are the most common dates but nice survivors are few. The second specimen was lot 51064 in Stack's Bowers NYINC sale (New York, January 2024), where it sold for $960. The catalog description[2] noted, "VENEZUELA. Caracas. 1/4 Real, 1817. Caracas Mint. Ferdinand VII. NGC AU-58. Small date variety. A well-made example with sharp detail and luster. Free from any distractions and sparingly handled; a great representative of the date. From the EMO Collection."
Recorded mintage: 490,000 large date plus 1,640,000 small date.
Specification: copper, 21-25 mm diameter.
Catalog reference: KM-C2; Cal-type 29 #66; Cayón-14888; cf. Stohr-8a. The second specimen is EMO-257.6 (Plate coin); KM-C2; Cal-66; Stohr-8.
- Cayón, Adolfo, Clemente Cayón and Juan Cayón, Las Monedas Españolas, del Tremis al Euro: del 411 a Nuestros Dias, 2 volumes, Madrid: Cayón-Jano S.L., 2005.
- Calicó, Xavier, Numismática Española: Catálogo General con Precios de Todas las Monedas Españolas Acuñadas desde Los Reyes Católicos Hasta Juan Carlos I, 1474 a 2001, Barcelona: Aureo & Calicó, 2008.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1801-1900, 9th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
- Stohr, Tomas, El Circulante en la Capitania General de Venezuela, Caracas, Banco Central de Venezuela, 1998.
- [1]Orsini, Matt, Kyle Ponterio and Jeremy Bostwick, The 2022 NYINC Sale: World and Ancient Coins, featuring the Mark and Lottie Salton Collection and the Pat Johnson Collection, Costa Mesa, CA: Stack's Bowers LLC, 2021.
- [2]Orsini, Matt, Kyle Ponterio and Jeremy Bostwick, January 2024 NYINC Auction, featuring the Emilio M Ortiz Collection and a Symphony of Russian Rarities, the Rothschild-Piatigorsky Collection, Costa Mesa, CA: Stack's Bowers Galleries, Inc., 2023.
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