Venezuela 1876-A 5 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 = 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 1876 five centavos shown was struck at the Paris mint (A). The denomination is written only as a weight (GR.1,250). It was lot 7622 and sold on Nov 6, 2010 at the November 2010 Baltimore Auction, for $620. The auction catalog description reads: "VENEZUELA. 5 Centavos, 1876-A. Y-12.2. Plain "A" mint mark. NGC MS-64"
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 1.25 g, 0.835 fine silver, 0.0336 oz ASW.
Catalog reference: KM Y12.2.
- 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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