San Bernardo de Maypo 1821 1/4 real token
This specimen was lot 41026 in Stack's Bowers ANA sale (Chicago, August 2024), where it sold for $24,000. The catalog description[1] noted,
"Rare and Interesting Token Issue in Copper, CHILE. San Bernardo de Maypo. 1/4 Real Token, 1821-So. Santiago Mint. NGC AU-58. One of just two known to NGC, and with no auction records to refer to, this token issue is undoubtedly VERY RARE. This specimen presents finely struck detail and appealing even brown patina. Suffering no damage and only scant wear, the surfaces retain near-Mint originality. Fully legible design elements allow full appreciation of this intriguing type. A great offering for specialists in the Chilean series seeking an esoteric addition to their collections.
Ambrosio O'Higgins, the colonial governor of Chile, was the first to initiate plans for the construction of an irrigation canal for the eastern peripheries of the city of Santiago in 1796. The project encountered various setbacks, not least the tumultuous wars of independence that shook Chile in the early 19th century. It was not until the 1820s, under Bernardo O'Higgins, Ambrosio's son and the head of state for the now-independent Chilean republic, that the project resumed progress. Even with the use of prison labor by 200 captured royalists, a lack of funding created numerous difficulties in both paying the remaining laborers and procuring materials. Domingo de Eyzaguirre, the director of the project, petitioned Bernardo O'Higgins in 1821 to authorize the mintage of 1000 Pesos to cover these mounting costs. While it is unknown how many of these Cuartillos were actually struck or whether they ever truly circulated for their intended purpose, they are quite unique for a number of reasons. Principally, because they are the first issues ever struck in copper in the history of the Santiago mint. Additionally, they bear the legend "REPUBLICA DE CHILE", the first instance of this terminology on Chilean coinage (which otherwise exclusively displayed "CHILE INDEPENDIENTE") which would not reappear until 1834. See Jose Medina's Monedas Obsidionales de Chile (1919) for more information. From the EMO Collection."
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: copper.
Catalog reference: EMO-2201 (Plate coin); KM-1; Medina-1.
- 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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