Peru 1863-L YB 20 soles
This gold twenty soles was minted in Lima in 1863 as part of the conversion to decimal coinage. This type and its sisters, the five soles (KM 192) and ten soles (KM 193) were struck in 1863 in an attempt to revive the gold coinage which had ceased in 1855. Gold four and eight escudos were also struck that year. A stable gold coinage had to wait until 1898 with the introduction of the libra (KM 207). The first specimen was lot 25215 in Heritage sale 3012 (New York, January 2011) and sold for $1,495. The catalog description[1] reads: "Republic gold 20 Soles 1863, nice lustrous XF-AU, no rim bumps or other flaws. From Rosalie's Collection of World Coins." The second specimen was lot 30334 in Heritage sale 3040 (Chicago, April 2015), where it sold for $1,880. The catalog description[2] noted, "Republic gold 20 Soles 1863-YB AU58 NGC, Lima mint. Free of major flaws with excellent luster retention in the fields."
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 32.25 g, 0.900 fine gold, 0.9334 troy oz AGW.
Catalog reference: KM 194, Fr-70.
- [1]Tucker, Warren, and Scott Cordry, Heritage Signature Auction 3012: World Coins, Dallas, TX: Heritage Auction Galleries, 2010.
- [2]Bierrenbach, Cristiano, Warren Tucker and David Michaels, Heritage Signature Auction 3040, featuring the Santa Maria, the Alan Dean and the Valley View Life Collections, Dallas, TX: Heritage Auction Galleries, 2015.
- Friedberg, Arthur L. and Ira S. Friedberg, Gold Coins of the World, From Ancient Times to the Present, 9th ed., Clifton, NJ: Coin and Currency Institute, 2017.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1801-1900, 9th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
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