Caracas 1820-BS real
This specimen was lot 2379 in Stack's Bowers NYINC sale (New York, January 2022), where it sold for $1,080. The catalog description[1] noted, "VENEZUELA. Caracas. Real, 1820-BS. Caracas Mint. Ferdinand VII. NGC VF Details--Holed. Variety without pearls on the reverse. Pierced, as are most examples of this VERY RARE date, with attractive pale gray color on the highpoints which are emboldened by the deeper surrounding tone. As a type, struck from 1817 to 1821, and far more difficult to locate than the 2 Reales of the same period. This example, when it appeared at auction in April 2015, brought $2,115 at that time. From the Centuria Collection." This specimen is a silver one real issued by the royalists in Caracas during the wars of independence. "F7" stands for Ferdinand VII, king of Spain, and the design is inspired by the Bolivian cobs which circulated freely in the region.
Recorded mintage: 11,000.
Specification: 2.45-3.25 g, silver, about 0.700 fine.
Catalog reference: Cayón-15335, KM-C5.2; Stohr-10b.
- Cayón, Adolfo, Clemente Cayón and Juan Cayón, Las Monedas Españolas, del Tremis al Euro: del 411 a Nuestros Dias, vol. 1, 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.
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