Watch List notes:

Chile, silver star military decoration, 1820, liberation of Valdivia, very rare, ex-J. Coolidge Hills, ex-ANS. Ross & Stahl-Ch4(?).. 5.93 grams, 26mm. Small six-point star inside round wreath, obverse with Valdivian fortress in center of legend LA PAT. A LOS HEROY. RESTAURS. DE VALDA.(cinquefoil), reverse with EL / DIA 3-FEBO. / DE / 1820. Darkly toned VF with no big problems, nicely pedigreed. Best we can tell, this medal is what Ross & Stahl were referring to on page 182 of From a Thankful Nation (2014), without photo or description, just entitled La Medalla por la Batalla de Valdivia, with the following historical note: "Although the royalist defeats at Chacabuco and Maipu effectively ended Spanish rule in Chile, more than a dozen significant battles and skirmishes were fought on Chilean soil. The most important of these was the capture of the key Spanish stronghold of Valdivia in February 1820 following a three-day siege by Chilean forces under the command of Lord Cochrane." We cannot find any other instances of this rare medal being sold, and the fact that it is not pictured or even described in Ross & Stahl emphasizes this rarity. The J. Coolidge Hills bequest that brought this piece to the ANS in 1967 greatly expanded their collection of pan-American military decorations. Pedigreed to the J. Coolidge Hills collection and to the American Numismatic Society archives and subsequent sale through Morton and Eden in April 2007, lot #383.
($3,500-$5,000)