Venezuela 1852 1/2 centavo
This specimen was lot 8427 in Stack's Bowers NYINC sale (New York, January 2022), where it sold for $288. The catalog description[1] noted, "VENEZUELA. 1/2 Centavo, 1852. London Mint. NGC AU-58. Variety with 23 berries in reverse wreath. This lovely little copper minor exhibits light signs of handling with pleasing chocolate brown patina. A hint of iridescence pops out when tilted in the light and adds an element of positive character to the appearance. From the Centuria Collection." Bolivar's forces drove the Spanish out of Venezuela by 1821 but the region was a province of Gran Colombia until 1830. Coinage commenced with quarter, half and one centavos of 1843. This was followed up by reissues of these denominations in 1852 from London (shown here). The Heaton mint struck an additional half million pieces (KM Y2). This is the last issue of this denomination.
Recorded mintage: 1,000,000 (including Y5.1 with 24 berries) plus 500,000 from Heaton.
Specification: 5.4 g, copper, 22 mm diameter.
Catalog reference: KM-Y5.2; Stohr-23.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1801-1900, 9th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
- Stohr, Tomas, El Circulante en la Capitania General de Venezuela, Caracas, Banco Central de Venezuela, 1998.
- [1]Orsini, Matt, Kyle Ponterio and Jeremy Bostwick, The 2022 NYINC Sale: World and Ancient Coins, featuring the Mark and Lottie Salton Collection and the Pat Johnson Collection, Costa Mesa, CA: Stack's Bowers LLC, 2021.
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