Cyprus 1938 piastre
This copper-nickel piastre was struck during the reign of George VI, king of Great Britain 1936-52. This is the only issue of the type in this alloy; bronze one piastres were minted 1942-49. This specimen was part of lot 32179 in Heritage sale 3041 (Chicago, August 2015), which sold for $11,162.50. The catalog description[2] noted, "Cyprus, British Colony - George VI Five-Coin Proof Set 1938, 1/2 Piastre PR65 NGC, Piastre PR65 NGC, 4-1/2 Piastres PR65 NGC, 9 Piastres PR66 NGC, 18 Piastres PR66 Cameo NGC. KM-PS7. This beautifully matched set features two copper-nickel and three silver denominations. Starting with the smallest coin, the 1/ 2 Piastre exhibits glossy, champagne surfaces with just a bit of marine-blue tone surrounding the legends. The Piastre, similar to its smaller counterpart, presents a striated pattern of sky-blue luster across the obverse and a evenly-toned golden reverse....In researching the population reports of these five coins, their excellence is further confirmed, as only a handful of like-graded pieces exist at present time....Thus it follows that while each individual piece is superior in both technical quality and visual allure, the true power of these pieces ultimately lies in their collection as a whole."
Recorded mintage: 2,700,000 plus a few proofs.
Specification: copper-nickel, designed by G. Krueger-Gray.
Catalog reference: KM 23.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1901-2000, 47th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
- [1]Bierrenbach, Cristiano, Warren Tucker and David Michaels, Heritage World & Ancient Coins Auction 3041, featuring the Eric Beckman Collection of Canadian Coins, the Kaiser Collection of German Gold Coins and the Rudman Collection of Mexican Coins, Part I, Dallas, TX: Heritage Auction Galleries, 2015.
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