Mexico 1843-SLPi 1/4 real

Stack's Bowers ANA sale, lot 41305

This type was struck at San Luis Potosi 1842-57. "Lion and castle" quarter reals were struck before independence but their issue ceased in 1821. State coppers were meant to fill the gap but their abusive overissue forced the central goverment to issue these tiny silver coins (face value 3¼¢) in an attempt to displace them. They were issued by the Chihuahua (mintmark "Ca", rare), Culiacan (mintmark "C", rare), Durango (mintmark "Do", not common), Guadalajara (mintmark "Ga", common), Guadalupe y Calvo (mintmark "GC", rare), Guanajuato (mintmark "Go", common), Mexico City (mintmark "Mo", common), San Luis Potosí (mintmark "SLPi", common) and Zacatecas (mintmark "Zs", common) mints. Many individual dates are very rare. Counterfeits exist. The conversion to decimal coinage in the 1860's terminated the denomination. This specimen was lot 41305 in Stack's Bowers ANA sale (Chicago, August 2024), where it sold for $125. The catalog description^[1] noted, "MEXICO. 1/4 Real, 1843/2-SLPi. San Luis Potosi Mint. NGC AU-50. A RARE overdate, this being the finest example of the three certified by NGC. Relatively unhandled, all of the coin's detail retains high legibility and an attractive originality. From the EMO Collection."

Recorded mintage: unknown.

Specification: 0.845 g, 0.903 fine silver.

Catalog reference: EMO-3127.2 (Plate coin); KM-368.7.

Source:

• Buttrey, T. V., and Clyde Hubbard, A Guide Book of Mexican Coins, 1822 to date, 6th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 1992.
• 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, August 2024 Global Showcase Auction, World & Ancient Coins, featuring The Emilio M. Ortiz Collection, The Richard Margolis Collection and The Rutherford Collection, Costa Mesa, CA: Stack's Bowers Galleries, Inc., 2024.

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• 1842-G^O ¼ real
• Guatemala 1843 ¼ real
• 1843-C^A ¼ real
• 1843-D^O ¼ real
• 1843-G^A ¼ real
• 1843-G^O ¼ real
• 1843-M^O ¼ real
• 1843-G^A ½ real
• 1843-G^O ½ real
• 1843-P^I real
• 1843-D^O 2 reales
• 1843-G^A 2 reales
• 1843-G^A 4 reales
• 1843-G^O 4 reales
• 1843-P^I 4 reales
• 1843-C^A 8 reales
• 1843-D^O 8 reales
• 1843-G^A JG 8 reales
• 1843-G^A MC 8 reales
• 1843-G^O 8 reales
• 1843-M^O 8 reales
• 1843-P^I PS 8 reales
• 1843-P^I AM 8 reales
• 1843-Z^S 8 reales
• 1843-D^O ½ escudo
• 1843-M^O ½ escudo
• 1843-M^O escudo
• 1843-G^O 8 escudos
• 1844-M^O ¼ real
• 1844-G^O ¼ real
• Coins and currency dated 1843
• return to Mexican imperial and republican coinage, 1822-1905