Zacatecas 1810 1/2 real KM-180

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Stack's Bowers November 2023 Collector's Choice sale, lot 70198
SB1123-70198r.jpg

This specimen was lot 70198 in Stack's Bowers Collector's Choice sale (Costa Mesa, CA, November 2023), where it sold for $6,600. The catalog description[1] noted,

"MEXICO. Zacatecas. War of Independence. 1/2 Real, 1810. Ferdinand VII. PCGS Genuine--Cleaned, AU Details. Type 1 with branches in place of lions on the shield. Variety with misspelled legend reading 'ZACATES'. A RARE date for the type, emanating from the earliest days of the independence movement. Rather crudely produced, as typical, but the noted cleaning is rather light. Both sides retain excellent clarity of detail, with the reverse displaying its unique coat of arms in a hastily-produced but delightful style. A great offering for specialists in Mexican provisional coinage.

While nominally struck in the name of king Ferdinand VII, contemporary documentation from the Viceroy Calleja declares that this type with crude branches in place of lions, described as either pomegranates or nopales, could not be considered legal tender as it was struck during the brief period that the revolutionary insurgents held the city. Thus, these Zacatecas issues from 1810 can be considered as the first truly Mexican coinage, struck by forces with no loyalty to the Spanish crown."

Alarmed by the outbreak of the Mexican war of independence, local officials opened a mint in Zacatecas so that silver ore would not have to be transported over bandit infested mountain trails. This type was struck 1810-11 with the local municipal arms. Later, the royal arms were substituted (KM 181) and finally a conventional bust obverse was used. Zacatecas was the most prolific of the royalist branch mints (among them Chihuahua, Durango, Guanajuato and Guadalajara) and operated for many decades under the Republic.

Recorded mintage: unknown.

Specification: silver.

Catalog reference: Cayón-15058, KM-180; Cal-479; Ramirez-ZM.0.1A.

Source:

  • Cayón, Adolfo, Clemente Cayón and Juan Cayón, Las Monedas Españolas, del Tremis al Euro: del 411 a Nuestros Dias, 2 volumes, Madrid: Cayón-Jano S.L., 2005.
  • Calicó, Xavier, Numismática Española: Catálogo General con Precios de Todas las Monedas Españolas Acuñadas desde Los Reyes Católicos Hasta Felipe VI, 1474 a 2020, Barcelona: Aureo & Calicó, 2019.
  • Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1801-1900, 9th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
  • [1]Orsini, Matt, Kyle Ponterio and Jeremy Bostwick, November 2023 World Collectors Choice Online Auction - Ancient & World Coins, Costa Mesa, CA: Stack's Bowers Galleries, Inc., 2023.

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