Djibouti No Date c/m 8 reales
The Republic of Djibouti is the former French Somaliland, acquired in 1839 from provincial sultans, and made into a French colony in 1896. The area received its independence from France in 1977 and remains poor tho without the anarchy experienced by Somalia next door.
The specimen shown is a countermarked 8 reales from Mexico. It was lot 1848 in Baldwin's Auction #71 on Sept. 29, 2011, and sold for US$141. The catalog description reads:
"FOREIGN COINS. Countermarks listed by area of Circulation. Arabia/Djibouti. Mexico City, Charles IV, 8-Reales, portrait type, 1806 TH, countermarked with a brooch on the king’s shoulder, making it resemble a Maria Theresa Thaler, the prime trade coin in the area. Fine and rare, not previously recorded. From The Alan Harley collection of Countermarked Latin American coins. ex Djibouti dealer, bought Simmons 1994 £60-80."
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 27g, 0.8960 silver, 0.7797 oz ASW (host); this specimen 26.83 g.
Catalog reference: no KM.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1801-1900, 9th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
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