Honduras 1897 50 centavos
This specimen was lot 1167 in Sedwick Treasure Auction 39 (Winter Park, FL, May 2026), where it sold for $1,620. The catalog description[1] noted, "HONDURAS, Tegucigalpa, 50 centavos, 1897/87, P above exergue line, rare, NGC F details / surface hairlines (Richard Stuart Collection Label). Nicely toned, with a bit of wear but mostly just weakly struck (the hairlines immaterial at this level), but most important feature is the extra P below the pedestal, just to the left of the engraver's name FRENER, of which none appear in the NGC census for this date (this one labeled without the P or the overdate), also not mentioned in Stickney, but surely the reason Stuart included it in his celebrated collection despite its grade. Pedigreed to the Richard Stuart Collection." This type was struck 1883-87, 1896-97 and 1910 but is much scarcer than the SCWC indicates. Overdates and varieties abound. This example realized twenty times the catalog value. The peso was dropped in favor of the lempira in 1931.
Recorded mintage: 37,436.
Specification: 12.5 g, 0.900 fine silver, 31 mm diameter.
Catalog reference: Stickney-C312 (overdate not listed); KM-51.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1801-1900, 9th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
- Raymond, Wayte, The Coins of Central America, Silver and Copper, 1824-1940, New York: Wayte Raymond Inc., 1941.
- 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]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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