Venezuela 1888 20 bolivares
This specimen was lot 21324 in Stack's Bowers NYINC sale (New York, January 2023), where it sold for $1,020. The catalog description[1] noted, "VENEZUELA. 20 Bolivares, 1888/6. Paris Mint. PCGS AU-58. A quite elusive type, particularly when preserved this nicely, this example delivers a sparkling luster and limited instances of handling and circulation. As such, a most desirable issue." Venezuela adopted a complete decimal coinage system in 1871, with 100 centavos = 1 venezuelano. By 1879, denominations were renamed centimos and bolivares, such that 100 centimos = 1 bolivar. The peso sized coin was equivalent to five 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'. The silver issues did not possess the name of the denomination. Instead, the weight of the coin and silver fineness is listed on the side with the coat of arms. This type was struck 1879-80, 1886-88, 1904-05, 1910-12 at various mints. This date is attributed to the Caracas mint in the SCWC; an 1888/6 overdate is reported. Altho no individual date has a large mintage, the type is common.
Recorded mintage: 81,000.
Specification: 6.45 g, 0.900 fine gold.
Catalog reference: Fr-5; KM-Y-32.
- 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]Orsini, Matt, Kyle Ponterio and Jeremy Bostwick, The January 2023 NYINC Auction: Ancient Coins, World Coins & Paper Money, featuring the Taraszka Collection and the Mark and Dottie Salton Collection, Costa Mesa, CA: Stack's Bowers LLC, 2022.
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