Chile 1817-So FJ peso

from the Mountain Groan Collection

This issue, the "volcano peso," is one of the most popular South American crowns. It was struck regularly between 1817 and 1834 in some numbers but is hotly pursued in auctions. It is the first coin to bear the word "peso." Colonial eight reales were commonly called pesos in everyday usage but are marked "8 R." The 1817-FJ is the most frequently encountered of the series; an 1817-FD and 1817 without assayers' initials are known, both are rare. The volcano design also appears on silver half, one and two reales of 1833-34.

Recorded mintage: unknown but probably several hundred thousand.

Specification: 27.07 g, 0.903 fine silver, .786 troy oz ASW, 39.5 mm diameter.

Catalog reference: KM 82.2.

Source:

• Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1801-1900, 9th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.

Links to:

• 1816 8 reales
• 1817 2 reales
• Peru 1817-L JP 8 reales
• 1817 escudo
• 1817-So 2 escudos
• 1817-So 8 escudos
• 1817-FD "volcano" peso
• 1818-FD peso
• Coins and currency dated 1817
• return to coins of Chile

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South America during the wars of liberation