Mozambique 1845 onca
This specimen was lot 47365 in Stack's Bowers ANA sale (Chicago, August 2024), where it sold for $552. The catalog description[1] noted, "MOZAMBIQUE. Onca, 1843. Maria II. PCGS FINE-12." These obscure and crude ingots are a sign of the neglect Portugal gave her African colonies in the nineteenth century. In the 1840's, Angola and Mozambique were largely stations for the slave trade with Brazil, to the ire of the British navy, which was attempting to interdict the trade. Portugal issued some copper coins for Mozambique in 1820 and again in 1853, but otherwise ignored the region. The coin name, "onça", should be pronounced like the Spanish word "onza". The auctioneers goofed in the description; this is actually an 1845.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: silver, this specimen 26.96 g.
Catalog reference: KM-26.2; Gomes-M2.12.02.
- Alberto Gomes and Francisco Antonio Magro, Moedas Portuguesas e do Território Que Hoje é Portugal: Catálogo das Moedas Cunhadas para o Continentes e Ilhas Adjacentes, para os Territórios do Ultramar e Grão-Mestres Portugueses da Ordem de Malta, 6ª Edição, Lisbon: Associação Numismática de Portugal, 2013.
- 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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