Guayana 1814 1/2 real
This is a specimen of a type issued by the royalists in Guayana, Venezuela. Like most local issues produced outside the major mints (Lima, Potosi, etc.), it usually comes crudely struck. This type was authorized by the royalists in 1813 to compensate for a coin shortage due to Guayana's isolation from other royalist-held areas. Venezuela attained separate independence in 1830. The first specimen was lot 16225 in Heritage sale 3014 (Chicago, April 2011), where it sold for $546.25. The catalog description[1] reads: "GUAYANA Provisional 1/2 Real 1814, Copper 1/2 Real with clear '4' of date and nearly full lettering. VF or better. The value '1/2' is evident twice due to a rotated double strike. From The Dana Roberts Collection." The second specimen was lot 58602 in Stack's Bowers NYINC sale (New York, January 2024), where it sold for $360. The catalog description[2] noted, "VENEZUELA. Guayana. 1/2 Real, 1814. Ferdinand VII. NGC EF-45. Large Flan variety."
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 3 g, copper.
Catalog reference: Cayón-15114, KM C41.1. The second specimen is KM-C41.2.
- Cayón, Adolfo, Clemente Cayón and Juan Cayón, Las Monedas Españolas, del Tremis al Euro: del 411 a Nuestros Dias, vol. 1, 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 Juan Carlos I, 1474 a 2001, Barcelona: Aureo & Calicó, 2008.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1801-1900, 9th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
- Stohr, Tomas, El Circulante en la Capitania General de Venezuela, Caracas, Banco Central de Venezuela, 1998.
- [1]Tucker, Warren, and Scott Cordry, Heritage Signature Auction 3014: World Coins, Dallas, TX: Heritage Auction Galleries, 2011.
- [2]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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