Venezuela 1879 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'. This specimen was lot 31779 in Heritage sale 3064 (Chicago, April 2018), where it sold for $1,920. The catalog description[1] noted, "Republic Bolivar 1879 AU55 NGC, Brussels mint. Extremely elusive, this lightly circulated example retains much of its original beauty, with near-full design detail and attractive blushes of green and gold patina over both sides. Easily the finest example of the date that we have offered." The Brussels mint struck 1/5 bolivar, half bolivar, one bolivar (shown here), 2 bolivares, 5 bolivares and 20 bolivares in 1879.
Recorded mintage: 375,000.
Specifications: 5 g, 0.835 fine silver, 23 mm diameter.
Catalog reference: KM Y22.
- 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.
- [1]Cristiano Bierrenbach and Warren Tucker, Heritage World Coin Auction 3064, featuring the Doug Robins Collection of Canadian Tokens, Dallas, TX: Heritage Auction Galleries, 2018.
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