Venezuela 1879 1/5 bolivar
Venezuela fully adopted a decimal coinage system in 1871, with 100 centavos = 1 venezuelano. By 1879, denominations were renamed centimos and bolivares, such that 100 centimos = 1 bolivar. A crown was equivalent to 5 bolivares. 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'.
Shown is a 1879 fifth bolivar, a one year type, minted in Brussels. The denomination is shown on the reverse as GR.1. Most of this issue was recalled and melted to make the quarter bolivar in 1894. It was lot 21961 on Aug 13, 2010 at the 2010 August Boston, MA Signature ANA World Coin Auction #3010 where it sold for $1,495. The catalog description reads: "Republic 1/5 Bolivar 1879, refined letters in the legend, toned VF-XF, quite nice for this rare little type. Most surviving examples are bent or mounted."
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specifications: 1 g, 0.835 fine silver, 0.0268 oz ASW.
Catalog reference: KM Y19.2.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1801-1900, 9th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
- Stohr, Tomas, Catalogo de Monedas, Ensayos, Fichas y Resellos de Venezuela, Caracas, 1975.
- Tucker, Warren, Scott Cordry and John Kraljevich, Heritage Sale 3010: World Coins, Dallas, TX: Heritage Auction Galleries, 2010.
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