Venezuela 1919 bolivar
This specimen was lot 8490 in Stack's Bowers NYINC sale (New York, January 2022), where it sold for $552. The catalog description[1] noted, "VENEZUELA. Bolivar, 1919. Philadelphia Mint. NGC MS-62. Unusually well preserved for the date, this Mint State example possesses a bold strike, delicate luster in the fields, and soft golden tone that strengthens slightly at the edges. VERY SCARCE in this grade, we have not observed an equal in terms of quality sold in many years. From the Centuria Collection." 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 1879-1936 but only the last few dates are common. Varieties exist in the placement of the torch privy mark under the bust. The last silver bolivar was struck in 1965, after which inflation set in. The Bolivar Fuerte was equal to 1,000 Bolivares when it was created in 2008. The Bolivar Soberano was equal to 100,000 Bolivar Fuertes when it was created in 2018.
Recorded mintage: 1,000,000, a somewhat common date.
Specification: 5 g, 0.835 fine silver.
Catalog reference: KM-Y22; Stohr-62.
- 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, Kyle Ponterio and Jeremy Bostwick, The 2022 NYINC Sale: World and Ancient Coins, featuring the Mark and Lottie Salton Collection and the Pat Johnson Collection, Costa Mesa, CA: Stack's Bowers LLC, 2021.
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