Philippines 1743 barillo KM-Pn6
This specimen was lot 21533 in Stack's Bowers ANA sale (Las Vegas, August 2020), where it sold for $2,280. The catalog description[1] noted, "PHILIPPINES. Barrilla, 1743. Manila Mint. PCGS Genuine--Environmental Damage, Fine Details Gold Shield. Cast in lead. Small letters variety. Another EXTREMELY RARE early Philippines issue from a typically very crude series. AB monogram in center surrounded by "Ano De 1743" in obverse legend; Reverse: Crowned arms of Manila. A well worn and charming piece with areas of brightness on the obverse rims where the lead is shining through coupled with thick dark patination offering much originality. Seldom do examples from this series appear on the market, let alone multiple dates, which are always highly sought after. An opportunity to acquire an example of one of these early issues does not present itself often and should not be taken lightly." The Philippines were conquered by Spain in the late 1500's. Other than introducing Christianity, the colonizers made little effort to develop the islands which gradually fell into the hands of the friars. Manila was important only as a way station on the route from China to Mexico and whatever coins were used there were derived therefrom. Crude, locally produced copper coins were issued c.1798-1835 and in the 1830's large quantities of Latin American pesos were counterstamped "F.7" or "Y.II" for local circulation. Finally, about 1860, a reforming government in Madrid sent the resources to reorganize the Manila mint and modern coinage began. These included gold one, two and four pesos (struck 1861-68). This seems to be a locally made pattern or die trial; we doubt anyone seriously contemplated issuing lead coinage.
Recorded mintage: unknown but few.
Specification: lead.
Catalog reference: cf. KM-Pn6; Basso-3a.
- Michael, Thomas, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1701-1800, 7th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2016.
- Basso, Aldo P., Coins, Medals and Tokens of the Philippines, Menlo Park, CA: 1968.
- Ganzon de Legarda, Angelita, Piloncitos to Pesos, A Brief History of Coinage in the Philippines, Manila: Bancom Development Corporation, 1976.
- [1]Orsini, Matt, Richard Ponterio and Kyle Ponterio, The August 2020 ANA Auction: World Coins, featuring the Duke of Lansing Collection, Santa Ana, CA: Stack's Bowers LLC, 2020.
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