Guatemala 1803-G 1/4 real
This specimen was lot 51101 in Stack's Bowers NYINC sale (New York, January 2024), where it sold for $504. The catalog description[1] noted, "GUATEMALA. 1/4 Real, 1803-G. Nueva Guatemala Mint. Charles IV. NGC VF-30. Moderate gray toned with surfaces that are free from major problems. From the EMO Collection." This tiny coin shares the design with similar issues from Mexico City and other Spanish colonial mints. The type was struck 1796-1821. Most of the dates are very scarce, but the 1821G appears in Uncirculated with some frequency, most likely the result of a hoard being dispersed. The denomination seems to have been popular in Guatemala, as silver cuartillas were struck under the Central American Republic 1824-51 and by the Republic of Guatemala 1859-99, being the last country to abandon the denomination.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 0.84 g, 0.896 fine silver.
Catalog reference: Cayón-13176, EMO-360.1 (Plate coin); KM-59; Cal-94.
- Cayón, Adolfo, Clemente Cayón and Juan Cayón, Las Monedas Españolas, del Tremis al Euro: del 411 a Nuestros Dias, 2 volumes, Madrid: Cayón-Jano S.L., 2005.
- Calicó, Xavier, Numismática Española: Catálogo General con Precios de Todas las Monedas Españolas Acuñadas desde Los Reyes Católicos Hasta Felipe VI, 1474 a 2020, Barcelona: Aureo & Calicó, 2019.
- Harris, Robert P., Pillars & Portraits, San José, CA: Bonanza Press, 1968.
- 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]Orsini, Matt, Kyle Ponterio and Jeremy Bostwick, January 2024 NYINC Auction, featuring the Emilio M Ortiz Collection and a Symphony of Russian Rarities, the Rothschild-Piatigorsky Collection, Costa Mesa, CA: Stack's Bowers Galleries, Inc., 2023.
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