Guatemala (1894) peso KM-224

from the Mountain Groan Collection

counterstamped 1885 sol, from the Mountain Groan Collection

Goldberg Sale 146, lot 1731

The SCWC notes of this type, "By 1894, foreign coins had become so prevalent that on August 10, the government authorized their counter-stamping at the mint, with official ½ real dies of 1894, to legitimize their circulation." To this author, there are problems with this interpretation; the counterstamped coins are almost exclusively Chilean pesos or Peruvian soles and the surviving specimens are generally in good condition, suggesting that they were new or nearly new when they were counterstamped. Previous counterstamping operations in Guatemala had been of heavily worn coins. It is this author's surmise that the mint purchased the coins from Chile and Peru with the intention of counterstamping them and that the other, rare varieties were mixed in by accident. The third specimen was lot 1731 in Goldberg Sale 146 (Los Angeles, July 2025), where it sold for $156. The catalog description^[1] noted, "Guatemala. Peso, ND (1894). Counterstamp using 1/2 Real dies on Peru 1892 TF Un Sol. Extremely Fine to About Uncirculated."

Recorded mintage: unknown.

Specification: 25 g, 0.900 fine silver, .723 troy oz ASW.

Catalog reference: KM 224.

Source:

Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1801-1900, 9th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
Robinson, Charles, The Coins of Central America, 1733-1965, San Benito, TX: 1965.
Stickney, Brian, A Monetary History of Central America, New York: American Numismatic Society, 2017.
^[1]Goldberg, Ira, Stephen Harvey and Vera Kan, Goldberg Sale 146: US Coins & Currency, Ancient & World Coins, featuring The Americas Collection, The Henry Garrett Collection & The Augustana Collection, Los Angeles: Goldberg Coins and Collectibles, 2025.

Link to:

Guatemala (1894) peso KM-224

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