Lagos (1811-14) 1/4 real
This specimen was lot 51294 in Stack's Bowers NYINC sale (New York, January 2024), where it sold for $360. The catalog description[1] noted, "MEXICO. War of Independence. Lagos. 1/4 Real, ND (ca. 1811-14). Ferdinand VII. NGC AU Details--Environmental Damage. A strong example of this RARE Royalist issue. Some surface porosity accounts for the grade, but the coin is otherwise quite well-preserved. Clear detail is seen across both sides, complemented by pleasing brown patina. From the EMO Collection." The SCWC lists this as a rare local (municipal) issue. There are several towns in Mexico named Lagos but this one is from Lagos de Moreno in northeast Jalisco, pop. 172,000. Its original name at its founding in 1563 was Villa de Santa María de los Lagos. It is noted that Miguel Hidalgo himself visited the town at the beginning of the War of Independence.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 0.84 g, 0.896 fine silver.
Catalog reference: EMO-637.2 (Plate coin); KM-L59; Cal-79.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1801-1900, 9th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
- [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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