Venezuela 1924 1/4 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 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'. Silver fractionals and multiples of bolivares 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.
Shown is a 1924 quarter bolivar, minted in Philadelphia. The obverse features the portrait of Simon Bolivar, recognized as liberator of the Venezuelans from rule by the Spanish. The reverse features the coat of arms, and the denomination written as GR.1.250, which is one quarter the weight of a one bolivar coin. This specimen was lot 70573 in Stack's Bowers Collector's Choice sale (Santa Ana, CA, October 2019), where it sold for $92. The catalog description[1] noted, "VENEZUELA. VENEZUELA. 1/4 Bolivar, 1924. PCGS Genuine--Cleaned, Unc Details Gold Shield. Lustrous with significant die polish lines in the fields that seem to have been confused as remnants of past cleaning. Worthy of a close look."
Recorded mintage: 800,000.
Specifications: 1.25 g, 0.835 fine silver, 0.033 troy oz ASW.
Catalog reference: KM-Y20.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1901-2000, 47th 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, Richard Ponterio and Kyle Ponterio, The October 2019 Collector's Choice Sale: World and Ancient Coins, Santa Ana, CA: Stack's Bowers LLC, 2019.
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