Puerto Rico (1884) c/s 1/2 dollar KM-10
This specimen was part of lot 4273 in Stack's-Bowers NYINC sale (New York, January 2015), which sold for $851.88. The catalog description[1] noted, "PUERTO RICO. Lot of (2) Countermarked Coins, 1/2 Dollar & 1/4 Dollar 1854. Pair of countermarked United States coins with a fleur-de-lys-like countermark for use in Puerto Rico. In 1884, Puerto Rico customs houses took holed U.S. coins and countermarked them for use on the island. They were legal tender until 1894. Includes: 1854 Arrows Quarter and 1858-O 1/2 Dollar. Both holed as all are. FINE." Puerto Rico, now a commonwealth of the United States, was a Spanish colony for nearly four centuries. For most of that period, locals used Mexican or other Latin American coins as the island has little bullion of its own. Coin shortages became severe after the mainland colonies obtained their independence in the 1820's (the island elite, fearing a slave rebellion, sided with the crown). In 1884, a number of holed foreign coins were countermarked for circulation; these were withdrawn in 1894. Finally, in 1895-96, the government in Spain issued coins for the island: five, ten, twenty, forty centavos and one peso. Alas, the belated efforts of the government were for naught as the island was ceded by the Spanish (along with Cuba and other territories) to the United States in 1898 as part of reparations to recover the cost of the Spanish-American War. Cuba was given its independence, but Puerto Rico became an unincorporated territory because of its strategic location at the entrance to the Caribbean Sea. The coin is now scarce, despite the large mintage, and avidly pursued by US and world coin collectors.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 12.44 g, 0.900 fine silver, .359 troy oz ASW.
Catalog reference: KM-10.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1801-1900, 9th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
- [1]Ponterio, Richard, The January 2015 NYINC Auction: Ancient Coins, World Coins & Paper Money, Featuring the John W. Adams and Ray Czabor Collections, Irvine, CA: Stack's Bowers LLC, 2014.
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