Mexico 1854-SLPi 1/4 real

Stack's Bowers June 2026 World Premier Collectors Choice Auction, lot 72058

This specimen was lot 72058 in Stack's Bowers June 2026 World Premier Collectors Choice Auction (Costa Mesa, CA, June 2026), where it sold for $732. The catalog description^[1] noted, "MEXICO. 1/4 Real, 1854-SLPi. San Luis Potosi Mint. NGC VF Details--Scratches. Very rare date. Only example graded by NGC. Toned and overall attractive despite scratches which are old and under the toning. From the Kirk Menczer Collection of Republican Reales Minors." This type was struck at San Luis Potosí 1842-47, 1851-57 and 1862. "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 government 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. Despite the noted damage, this example sold for well over double the catalog value.

Recorded mintage: unknown but the key date.

Specification: 0.85 g, 0.903 fine silver, .025 troy oz ASW.

Catalog reference: KM-368.7.

Source:

• Busse, Dave, A Minor Challenge: A Study of Mexican Republic Silver ¼, ½, 1, 2 and 4 Reales Die Styles,, Harlingen, TX: 2018.
• 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.
• Utberg, Neil S., The Coins of Mexico, 1536-1963, San Antonio, TX, 1963.
• ^[1]Orsini, Matt, Kyle Ponterio and Jeremy Bostwick, June 2026 World Premier Collectors Choice Auction - Selections from the L.E. Bruun Collection, the Richard Margolis Collection and the Kirk Menczer Collection of Republican Reales Minors, Costa Mesa, CA: Stack's Bowers Galleries, Inc., 2026.

Links to:

• 1851-SLP^I ¼ real
• 1854-G^A ¼ real
• 1854-C ½ real
• 1854-D^O ½ real
• 1854-G^A ½ real
• 1854-G^O ½ real
• 1854-M^O ½ real
• 1854-P^I ½ real
• 1854-Z ½ real
• 1854-C real
• 1854-D^O real
• 1854-G^O real
• 1854-M^O real
• 1854-P^I real
• 1854-Z^S real
• 1854-C 2 reales
• 1854-G^A 2 reales
• 1854-G^O 2 reales
• 1854-M^O 2 reales
• 1854-Z^S 2 reales
• 1854-G^A 4 reales
• 1854-G^O 4 reales
• 1854-M^O 4 reales
• 1854-P^I 4 reales
• 1854-Z^S 4 reales
• 1854-C^A 8 reales
• 1854-D^O 8 reales
• 1854-G^A 8 reales
• 1854-G^O 8 reales
• 1854-M^O 8 reales
• 1854-P^I 8 reales
• 1854-Z^S 8 reales
• 1854-C ½ escudo
• 1854-D^O ½ escudo
• 1854-M^O ½ escudo
• 1854-C 8 escudos
• 1854-G^O 8 escudos
• 1854-M^O 8 escudos
• 1857-SLP^I ¼ real
• Coins and currency dated 1854
• return to Mexican imperial and republican coinage, 1822-1905