El Salvador (1839) c/m real
The first specimen was lot 31386 in Heritage sale 3107 (Chicago, May 2023), where it sold for $3,840. The catalog description[1] noted,
"El Salvador. Republic Counterstamped 'Volcano' Real 1839 (1840) G6 PCGS. Host: Peru Real 1832 LIMA-MM (cf. KM145.1); Counterstamp: Type-III Volcano '1839' (F Details). Although the countermark bears the date 1839, this action was taken in 1840 after the founding of the El Salvadorean Republic. All Type-III Volcano counterstamps are rare but this denomination of coinage, as opposed to the 2 Reales, is especially so. No other examples have come up for auction in recent memory. The host coin is very worn but bears no distracting damage. The countermark is also worn and is labeled as 'Details' by PCGS but the volcano and date are both clear and easy to appreciate. An incredible opportunity for the Central American specialist to obtain a major rarity."
The second specimen was lot 1118 in Sedwick Treasure Auction 39 (Winter Park, FL, May 2026), where it sold for $4,800. The catalog description[2] noted, "EL SALVADOR, 1 real, 1839 volcano countermark (Type III, 1840) on a Lima, Peru, 1 real, 1828 M, very rare, NGC F details / obv scratched, c/s VF standard. Lightly toned, with relatively deeply impressed countermark, related test-scratches to left of Liberty (standard for this type), very rare denomination for this scarce countermark." This counterstamp also appears on South American half reales, two reales and eight reales. All are rare.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: host coin 3.38 g, 0.896 fine silver.
Catalog reference: KM 33.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1901-2000, 47th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
- [1]Cristiano Bierrenbach, Warren Tucker and Sam Spiegel, 2023 May 3 - 5 CSNS World Coins Platinum Session and Signature® Auction #3107, Dallas, TX: Heritage Auction Galleries, 2023.
- [2]Sedwick, Daniel Frank, Augi Garcia, Cori Sedwick Downing, Connor Falk and Sarah Sproles, Auction 39, World, U.S Coins and Paper Money, featuring the Jorge Ugaz Collection of Lima Silver Cob 2 Reales and the Darby Collection of Guatemala Silver Cobs, Winter Park, FL: Daniel Frank Sedwick LLC, 2026.
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