Costa Rica 1889-H 50 centavos
This specimen was lot 34094 in Stack's Bowers ANA sale (Chicago, August 2022), where it sold for $14,400. The catalog description[1] noted,
"COSTA RICA. Silver 50 Centavos Pattern, 1889. Birmingham (Heaton) Mint. PCGS SPECIMEN-67. Tied for finest certified with one other example on either the NGC or PCGS population reports. This beautifully preserved and highly attractive specimen exhibits a masterful strike with needle sharp design features and hard flashy surfaces. Lovely rich mottled patina graces the obverse somewhat subduing its brilliance while the reverse is nearly blast white with full mint bloom. This EXTREMELY RARE issue is seldom encountered in any condition let alone in this elite state of preservation, it is destined for a fine cabinet of a discerning collector.
Accompanied with an old Freeman Craig ticket which states the following: "Struck in England as part of the new coinage series of 1889 (5c, 10c, 25c as Y17-19) but rejected by the Costa Rican gov't and never placed into circulation. In the early 1950's, Jorge Lines obtained 2 of the 7 specimens retained by the Heaton Mint. The remaining 5 have recently all been offered. No others reported."
Jorge Lines was an advanced collector of Costa Rican coins and currency whose collection was sold through Henry Christensen in his May 1984 mail bid auction. According to Sweeny, the Birmingham mint records state that £3,000 for each the 5 Centavos and 10 Centavos and £12,000 for each of the 25 Centavos and 50 Centavos were ordered. While the 5, 10 and 25 Centavos were accepted by the Government and released into circulation, the 50 Centavos was rejected and did not. At the time of writing specimens of the 50 Centavos were contained in the Royal Mint Museum and the cabinet of The Mint (Birmingham Mint Collection). From the Pat Johnson Collection. Purchased privately from Freeman Craig."
The SCWC shows this pattern under KM 159, the counterstamped 50 centimos of 1923.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 12.5 g, 0.750 fine silver.
Catalog reference: KM-131; Sweeny-CR4.
- 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]Orsini, Matt, Kyle Ponterio and Jeremy Bostwick, The 2022 ANA Auction - Ancients & World Coins - Featuring The Salton Collection Part III, the Augustana Collection and the Robert C. Knepper Collection, Costa Mesa, CA: Stack's Bowers LLC, 2022.
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