Costa Rica 1875-GW 10 centavos
This type was struck for Costa Rica 1875 only along with a five, twenty-five and fifty centavos. The type is rather scarce. Costa Rica officially switched from the peso to the colon in 1897, which currency was reformed again in 1917 and 1920. The first specimen was part of lot 27076 in Heritage sale 3022 (New York, January 2013), which sold for $940. The catalog description[1] noted, "Republic Lot of Nineteen 25 and 50 Centavos Coins, All are 19th century issues. Some are mint state, many are scarce. Careful examination is a must. Sold as is, no return lot. The Cecil Webster Collection of Costa Rica." The second specimen was lot 30330 in Heritage sale 3081 (New York, January 2020), where it sold for $7,200. The catalog description[2] noted, "Costa Rica, Republic 10 Centavos 1875-GW MS64 NGC, San Jose mint. Struck after the re-opening of the San Jose mint in 1875 following a former closure due to quality control issues, and a noteworthy conditional rarity within the Costa Rican series. Well-struck from fresh dies, with admirable surfaces carrying sharp argent luster and noticeable reflectivity. This is an extremely rare one-year type and the only graded Mint State example, with the next finest certified as AU58. The CR mint had been previously closed due to quality control issues and 1875 CR coins of this quality are virtually unknown."
Recorded mintage: 286,000.
Specification: 2.53 g, 0.750 fine silver, .060 troy oz ASW, reeded edge.
Catalog reference: KM 126.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1801-1900, 9th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
- Gurdian, Raul, Contribucion al Estudio de las Monedas de Costa Rica: 100 Años de Colon, 2a Ed., San José, Costa Rica, 1997.
- Stickney, Brian, A Monetary History of Central America, New York: American Numismatic Society, 2017.
- [1]Bierrenbach, Cristiano, Warren Tucker and David Michaels, Heritage World and Ancient Coins Auction 3021, featuring the Cecil Webster, Richard P. Ariagno and Elizabeth McPhall Charters Collection, Dallas: Heritage Auction Galleries, 2012.
- [2]Bierrenbach, Cristiano, Warren Tucker and Sam Spiegel, Heritage World and Ancient Coins Auction 3081, featuring the Caranett Collection, Dallas, TX: Heritage Auction Galleries, 2019.
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