Venezuela 1888 5 bolivares
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 = one bolivar. A crown 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'.
Shown is a 1888 five bolivares, minted in Caracas. The denomination is shown on the reverse as GR.25. This specimen was lot 4455 in Goldberg sale 104 (Los Angeles, June 2018), where it sold for $786. The catalog description[1] noted, "Venezuela. 5 Bolivares, 1888. Second 8 low. NGC graded About Uncirculated Details (Surface Hairlines)." This date is common thru Very Fine but the price ascends rapidly with grade.
Specification: 37 mm diameter, 25 grams, 0.900 fine silver, reeded edge.
Recorded Mintage: 235,000.
Catalog reference: KM Y-24.1.
- 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]Goldberg, Ira, Larry Goldberg, John Lavender, Yifu Che, Jason Villareal and Stephen Harvey, Goldberg Sale 104: the Pre-Long Beach Auction, Los Angeles: Goldberg Coins and Collectibles, 2018.
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