Spain 1869-SN M 20 centimos (69)
The specimen shown was lot 427 in Aureo y Calicó sale 242 (Barcelona, March 2012), where it sold for 6,258 € (about US$9,716 including buyer's fee). The catalog description[1] noted,
"Gobierno Provisional (1868-1871). 1869*69. SNM. 20 céntimos. La moneda de plata más rara del Centenario de la peseta: sólo 90 ejemplares acuñados. Bellísima. Pleno brillo original. Rarísima así. S/C. (Provisional government of 1868-71, twenty centimos of 1869, the rarest silver coin of the peseta system. Very beautiful, full original luster remaining, extremely rare, uncirculated.)"
In 1868, the monarchy was overthrown. The old regime, marred by corruption and scandal and unable to quell rebellions in Catalonia and Cuba, was little mourned. The new government, unable to find a prince willing to accept the throne, established a republic and designed new coins. The system, reformed in 1850 and 1866, was reformed again to conform to the French model. The peso was reduced to 25 grams and set equal to five pesetas with each peseta divisible into 100 centimos. This system would prevail until the coming of the euro. The 1869 is so rare as to be virtually a pattern and the 1870, the only other date of this denomination, is only slightly more available.
Recorded mintage: 90.
Specification: 1 g, 0.835 fine silver, .027 troy oz ASW.
Catalog reference: KM 650, Cal. 21.
- Cayón, Adolfo, Clemente Cayón and Juan Cayón, Las Monedas Españolas, del Tremis al Euro: del 411 a Nuestros Dias, 2 volumes, Madrid: Cayón-Jano S.L., 2005.
- Calicó, Xavier, Numismática Española: Catálogo General con Precios de Todas las Monedas Españolas Acuñadas desde Los Reyes Católicos Hasta Felipe VI, 1474 a 2020, Barcelona: Aureo & Calicó, 2019.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1801-1900, 9th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
- [1]Sisó, Teresa, Eduardo Domingo and Lluís Lalana, Selección de 500 Monedas, Medallas y Billetes, Barcelona: Aureo y Calicó Subastas, 2012.
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