Chile 1866 1/2 decimo

from the Mountain Groan Collection

This silver five centavos piece was minted in Santiago, Chile, in 1865-66. A later type using the same design but a slightly redesigned condor was issued 1867-81. It featured the same upright condor design also used on the decimo, twenty centavos and fifty centavos and peso. The half decimo contained .036 troy oz of silver in 1851-59; by 1865 this had been reduced to .033 troy oz. The decline did not stop with this type; the coin shrank until it was converted to copper-nickel in 1920. The high relief on the condor struck up poorly and most specimens appear in Fine or lower.

Recorded mintage: 82,000.

Specification: 1.15 g, 0.900 fine silver, .033 troy oz ASW.

Catalog reference: KM 137.1.

Source:

• Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1801-1900, 9th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.

Link to:

• 1865 ½ décimo
• 1866 décimo
• 1866 20 centavos
• 1866 10 pesos
• 1871 centavo
• 1871 peso
• 1868 ½ décimo
• Coins and currency dated 1866
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