Crete 1900-A lepton

from the Stack's Bowers October 2021 Collector's Choice sale, lot 70425

This specimen was lot 70425 in Stack's Bowers Collector's Choice sale (Costa Mesa, CA, October 2021), where it sold for $360. The catalog description^[1] noted, "CRETE. Lepton, 1900-A. Paris Mint. PCGS MS-64 Red Brown. A decently struck and lustrous little near-Gem, with abundant dark mint red in the fields." Around the turn of the century, the island of Crete was contested by Greece and Turkey. The overwhelmingly Greek population of the island favored union with Greece but the Powers, not wanting to partition Turkey too rapidly, forced the Greek king to accept Turkish suzerainty over his control. This unwieldy arrangement lasted until 1913, when Greece annexed the island. This five lepta, struck 1900-01, is common in grades up to Extremely Fine.

Recorded mintage: 289,283.

Specification: 0.83 g, bronze, 15 mm diameter.

Catalog reference: KM-1.

Source:

• Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1801-1900, 9th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
• ^[1]Orsini, Matt, Kyle Ponterio and Jeremy Bostwick, The October 2021 Collector's Choice sale: World and Ancient Coins, Costa Mesa, CA: Stack's Bowers LLC, 2021.

Link to:

• 1900-A 2 lepta
• Crete 1900-A 5 lepta
• Crete 1901-A lepton
• Crete 1901-A 2 lepta
• Crete 1901 50 lepta
• Crete 1901 drachma
• Crete 1901 2 drachmai
• Crete 1901 5 drachmai
• Coins and currency dated 1900