Costa Rica 1923/1893 50 centimos
This specimen was lot 72454 in Stack's Bowers Collectors Choice sale (Costa Mesa, CA, November 2022), where it sold for $192. The catalog description[1] noted, "COSTA RICA. 50 Centimos, 1923. San Jose Mint. NGC MS-64. Countermarked on 1893 Heaton Costa Rica 25 Centimos (KM-130), brilliant full luster. Lovely example of this type with sparkling original brilliance." This type was counterstamped in Costa Rica in 1923 to double the value of the host coin, in this case a 1893-H 25 centavos. Many fifty centavos were similarly counterstamped and raised to one colon coins. Costa Rica officially switched from the peso to the colon in 1897, which currency was reformed again in 1917 and 1920.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 6.3 g, 0.750 fine silver, .151 troy oz ASW, 25 mm diameter (host coin).
Catalog reference: KM-159.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1901-2000, 47th 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 November 2022 Collectors Choice Ancient & World Coins Auction, Featuring the Pat Johnson Collection, Costa Mesa, CA: Stack's Bowers LLC, 2022.
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