Colombia 1885-M 20 centavos
This specimen is a one of a type struck 1882-85 at the Medellin mint. It appears to be the 1885/4 overdate. This coin is a descendant of the first two reales of the independent Nueva Granada (1839-46, KM 97). Eventually, the government announced that ten reales made a peso instead of the former eight. The former two reales was redesignated a two decimos, struck 1854-58 (KM 117). In 1866, the fineness was lowered to .835 and struck at that standard 1866-74 (KM 149, 155, 159, 160) to be replaced by this issue at the same ASW. This specimen was part of lot 31967 in Heritage sale 3040 (Chicago, April 2015), which sold for $493.50. The catalog description[1] noted, "Republic Lot of 25 Minors, Denominations, dates, and grades vary. Close inspection is a must."
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 5 g, 0.835 fine silver, 0.134 troy oz ASW.
Catalog reference: KM 178.3.
- Almanzar, Alcedo, and Dale Seppa, Coins of Colombia, San Antonio, TX: 1973.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1801-1900, 9th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
- Restrepo, Jorge Emilio, Monedas de Colombia, 1619-2006, Medellin, Colombia: Impresiones Rojo, 2006.
- [1]Bierrenbach, Cristiano, Warren Tucker and David Michaels, Heritage Signature Auction 3040, featuring the Santa Maria, the Alan Dean and the Valley View Life Collections, Dallas, TX: Heritage Auction Galleries, 2015.
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