Latvia 1923 santims
This specimen was lot 41115 in Stack's Bowers ANA sale (Costa Mesa, CA, August 2021), where it sold for $1,560. The catalog description[1] noted, "LATVIA. Santims, 1923. Le Locle (Huguenin) Mint. PCGS SPECIMEN-64 Red Brown Gold Shield. Mintage: 10 (reported). One of just two graded at PCGS, this example represents a great opportunity for an extremely difficult coin from a paltry output. Quite dazzling and brilliant, with orange-brown surfaces and hues of cobalt." Latvia's independence was snuffed out by Russian (then Nazi) occupation in 1940. Independence was not reclaimed until 1991. The 1922 santims is common; we don't know why dies for 1923 would be prepared and then only ten pieces made.
Recorded mintage: 10.
Specification: 1.65 g, bronze, 17 mm diameter.
Catalog reference: KM-1.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1901-2000, 47th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
- [1]Orsini, Matt, Kyle Ponterio and Jeremy Bostwick, The August 2021 ANA sale: World and Ancient Coins, Costa Mesa, CA: Stack's Bowers LLC, 2021.
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