Mexico 1856-Ga LR 1/4 real

Stack's Bowers June 2026 World Premier Collectors Choice Auction, lot 72017

This specimen was lot 72017 in Stack's Bowers June 2026 World Premier Collectors Choice Auction (Costa Mesa, CA, June 2026), where it sold for $1,159. The catalog description^[1] noted, "MEXICO. 1/4 Real, 1856-Ga LR. Guadalajara Mint. NGC VF-30. Extremely rare date. Only example graded by NGC. Well struck and attractive. So rare that it was unknown to Buttrey and Hubbard in their first edition. From the Kirk Menczer Collection of Republican Reales Minors." "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, struck 1842-47, 1851-57 and 1862), 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, such as this one, are very rare. Counterfeits exist. The conversion to decimal coinage in the 1860's terminated the denomination.

Recorded mintage: unknown.

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

Catalog reference: KM-368.3.

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:

• 1855-G^A ¼ real
• Chihuahua 1856 ¼ real
• Guanajuato 1856 1/4 real
• Jalisco 1856 1/8 real
• 1856-G^O ¼ real
• 1856-C ½ real
• 1856-D^O ½ real
• 1856-G^A ½ real
• 1856-G^O ½ real
• 1856-M^O ½ real
• 1856-P^I ½ real
• 1856-Z ½ real
• 1856-C real
• 1856-G^A real
• 1856-G^O real
• 1856-M^O real
• 1856-P^I real
• 1856-Z^S real
• 1856-C 2 reales
• 1856-G^A 2 reales
• 1856-G^O 2 reales
• 1856-M^O 2 reales
• 1856-P^I 2 reales
• 1856-Z^S 2 reales
• 1856-G^A 4 reales
• 1856-G^O 4 reales
• 1856-M^O 4 reales
• 1856-P^I 4 reales
• 1856-Z^S 4 reales
• 1856-C^A 8 reales
• 1856-D^O 8 reales
• 1856-G^A 8 reales
• 1856-G^O 8 reales
• 1856-M^O 8 reales
• 1856-P^I 8 reales
• 1856-Z^S 8 reales
• 1856-C ½ escudo
• 1856-M^O ½ escudo
• 1856-G^A escudo
• 1856-M^O escudo
• 1856-G^O 4 escudos
• 1856-M^O 4 escudos
• 1856-C 8 escudos
• 1856-C^A 8 escudos
• 1856-D^O 8 escudos
• 1856-G^O 8 escudos
• 1856-M^O 8 escudos
• 1857-SLP^I ¼ real
• Coins and currency dated 1856
• return to Mexican imperial and republican coinage, 1822-1905