Mexico 1844-Mo LR 1/4 real

Ponterio sale 159, lot 8103

photo courtesy Ponterio & Associates

the 1844 quarter real (upper right) compared to other quarter reales

The type was struck at Mexico City 1842-63. "Lion and castle" quarter reals were struck before independence but their issue ceased in 1821. State coppers were meant to fill the gap but their abusive overissue forced the central goverment to issue these tiny silver coins (face value 3¼¢) in an attempt to displace them. They were issued by the Chihuahua (mintmark "Ca", rare), Culiacan (mintmark "C", rare), Durango (mintmark "Do", not common), Guadalajara (mintmark "Ga", common), Guadalupe y Calvo (mintmark "GC", rare), Guanajuato (mintmark "Go", common), Mexico City (mintmark "Mo", common), San Luis Potosí (mintmark "SLPi", common) and Zacatecas (mintmark "Zs", common) mints. Many individual dates are very rare. Counterfeits exist. The conversion to decimal coinage in the 1860's terminated the denomination. This specimen was lot 8103 in Ponterio sale 159 (Baltimore, March 2011), where it sold for $1,150. The catalog description^[1] noted, "MEXICO. Mexico City. 1/4 Real, 1844/3-MoLR. RARE date. Toned. NGC AU-58."

Specification: 0.845 g, 0.903 fine silver.

Recorded mintage: unknown.

Catalog reference: KM-368.6.

Source:

• Buttrey, T. V., and Clyde Hubbard, A Guide Book of Mexican Coins, 1822 to date, 6th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 1992.
• Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1801-1900, 9th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
• ^[1]Ponterio, Richard, Ponterio sale 159: the March 2011 Baltimore Auction, featuring the Len Novotny collection, Irvine, CA: Stack's-Bowers & Ponterio, 2011.

Link to:

• 1843-Mo ¼ real
• 1844-G^A ¼ real
• 1844-GC ¼ real
• 1844-G^O ¼ real
• 1844-SLP^I ¼ real
• 1844-C^A ½ real
• 1844-G^A ½ real
• 1844-GC ½ real
• 1844-G^O ½ real
• 1844-Z^S ½ real
• 1844-C^A real
• 1844-GC real
• 1844-Z^S real
• 1844-G^A 2 reales
• 1844-Z^S 2 reales
• 1844-G^A 4 reales
• 1844-GC 4 reales
• 1844-G^O 4 reales
• 1844-C^A 8 reales
• 1844-D^O 8 reales
• 1844-G^A 8 reales
• 1844-GC 8 reales
• 1844-G^O 8 reales
• 1844-M^O 8 reales
• 1844-P^I 8 reales
• 1844-Z^S 8 reales
• 1844-D^O ½ escudo
• 1844-M^O ½ escudo
• 1844-GC escudo
• 1844-G^A 4 escudos
• 1844-GC 8 escudos
• 1844-G^O 8 escudos
• 1844-M^O 8 escudos
• 1845-G^O ¼ real
• 1845-Mo ¼ real
• Coins and currency dated 1844
• return to Mexican imperial and republican coinage, 1822-1905