Venezuela 1875-A 5 venezolanos (gold)
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 = one 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 1875 five venezolanos shown was struck at the Paris mint (mintmark "A"). The denomination is written only as weight (GR. 8,0645). It was lot 25028 in Heritage Auction #3014 (Chicago, April 2011) and sold for $517.50. The auction catalog description[1] reads: "Republic gold 5 Venezolanos 1875A, AU55 NGC, quite nice with minimal contact marks."
Recorded mintage: 35,000.
Specification: 8.0645 g, 0.900 fine gold, 0.2333 oz AGW.
Catalog reference: KM Y17.
- Friedberg, Arthur L. and Ira S. Friedberg, Gold Coins of the World, From Ancient Times to the Present, 9th ed., Clifton, NJ: Coin and Currency Institute, 2017.
- 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]Tucker, Warren, and Scott Cordry, Heritage Signature Auction 3014: World Coins, Dallas, TX: Heritage Auction Galleries, 2011.
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