Venezuela 1874-A 50 centavos
Though Venezuela declared independence in 1810 and fully routed Spanish troops from the region by 1821, it was not until the dissolution of Gran Colombia in 1830 that Venezuela became fully a sovereign nation. The first republican coinage was denominated in centavos and reales. After the first coinage reform of 1871, the denomination real was abandoned in the transition to the decimal system, being replaced by venezolano, such that 100 centavos = 1 venezolano. The official title of the country from 1864 was 'Estados Unidos de Venezuela', a name it would carry until 1953, when the constitution mandated a return to the name 'Republica de Venezuela'.
The 1874 fifty centavos shown was struck at the Paris mint (A). The denomination is written only as weight (Gs. 12,500). It was lot 24735 and sold on Apr 26, 2010 at the 2010 April Rosemont, IL CICF Signature World Coin Auction #3009, for $218. The auction catalog description reads: "Republic 50 Centavos 1874A, VF, scarce type, a problem free example."
Recorded mintage: 200,000.
Specification: 12.50 g, 0.835 fine silver, 0.3356 oz ASW.
Catalog reference: KM Y15.
- 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.
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