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March Signature Sale 3096 25-27 Mar 2021
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Chile
Republic "Volcano" Peso 1828 COQUIMBO-TH AU55 NGC, Coquimbo mint, KM88 (Rare), cf. MC-pg. 51 (there, Type A), Elizondo-98, Jara Moreno-pg. 37, Fig. 12 and pg. 49, 2 (this coin). Type B ("Crude" type). By Teodoro Hagen. Gregorio Cordovez as mintmaster. One of the most storied rarities in the entirety of the Chilean series, and respectively, a type that has proven the target of nearly all major collectors of Latin American coinage. Designed in a style that seems to blow-past the famed, and much more ubiquitous, "Volcano" pesos of Santiago, despite being designated as the "crude" type for its hand-manufacture, the present coin offers utterly few grounds for complaint, its surfaces lustrous and backlit with a champagne glow, while the lettering, all hand-cut, is strikingly elegant and sharp.
Already a prominent source of gold and silver owing to the mines located in its vicinity, Coquimbo was situated far enough from the mint in Santiago to make the transportation of both men and metal between the two locales difficult and inconvenient. As a consequence, by government decree in September 1827, a mint was established at Coquimbo to be managed under prominent local citizen Gregorio Cordovez. While he was formally authorized to obtain the minting supplies he required from the mint in Santiago, the superintendent there, J. S. Portales, was only able to provide him with defective equipment, and no official dies were forthcoming; Cordovez even had to buy blank dies from a local mining company. Using his own skill, Teodoro Hagen then engraved a set dies from which 20 trials were produced for approval from Santiago, all of which were subsequently melted. On November 18th, Cordovez sent a second trial issue to Santiago, struck from modified dies from the first trial which had been reengraved by Hagen to remove the faults. These again, however, failed to pass inspections, with the outbreak of revolution in 1829 resulting in the definitive closure of the mint by November 1830.
While it is difficult to pin down exact dates, sometime in the period from 1828 to 1829 a transition occurred at Coquimbo, whereby a series of pieces were produced from professionally made hubs and punches, resulting in the well-known distinction between the early "crude" hand-made issues and these later "fine" products. Although the later productions have historically received greater praise for their sharp and uniform designs--with the lack of proper research into archival documents until Jara Moreno's study, published in 2001, leading some to question whether the "crude" pieces were even contemporary--it is in fact the earlier types that represent the rarest collectible coins of this short-lived series. Whereas approximately 11-12 examples of the fine issue are known (two of which reside in the institutional collections of the British Museum and Banco de Chile), Jara Moreno cites a mere 5 of the early crude type, which we can expand as follows:
1) Almanzar's (December 1976, lot 387) [cover lot]. (Jara Moreno-pg. 49, 1) = KM88 Plate Coin.
2) The Paramount specimen (this coin). Leu Numismatik Auction 89 (October 2003, Lot 440); Adriana Garcia Burr Collection; A. Eidelstein Collection (Henry Christensen 1966, Lot 4074) (Jara Moreno-pg. 49, 2)
3) The Elizondo-98 Plate Coin. (Jara Moreno-pg. 50, 3)
4) Private Chilean Collection. Purchased from the Ross Collection in 1995; Luis Ross Collection. (Jara Moreno-pg. 50, 5)
5) The R. E. Collection specimen. (Jara Moreno-pg. 50, 5)
6) The Museo Historico de Chile (Banco Central de Chile Collection) specimen. Arrieta Cañas Collection. (Jara Moreno-pg. 50, 6)
Of the 3 examples we have sold, we have never handled a representative of this type. Even more intriguing, sales records over the past 20 years reveal that no other examples have been available, aside from this specimen. An absolutely incredible offering that will easily be the highlight of its next collection.
https://coins.ha.com/itm/chile/chile-republic-volcano-peso-1828-coquimbo-th-au55-ngc-/a/3096-30141.s?type=CoinArchives3096
HID02906262019
© 2020 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved
Estimate: 15000-25000 USD
Republic "Volcano" Peso 1828 COQUIMBO-TH AU55 NGC, Coquimbo mint, KM88 (Rare), cf. MC-pg. 51 (there, Type A), Elizondo-98, Jara Moreno-pg. 37, Fig. 12 and pg. 49, 2 (this coin). Type B ("Crude" type). By Teodoro Hagen. Gregorio Cordovez as mintmaster. One of the most storied rarities in the entirety of the Chilean series, and respectively, a type that has proven the target of nearly all major collectors of Latin American coinage. Designed in a style that seems to blow-past the famed, and much more ubiquitous, "Volcano" pesos of Santiago, despite being designated as the "crude" type for its hand-manufacture, the present coin offers utterly few grounds for complaint, its surfaces lustrous and backlit with a champagne glow, while the lettering, all hand-cut, is strikingly elegant and sharp.
Already a prominent source of gold and silver owing to the mines located in its vicinity, Coquimbo was situated far enough from the mint in Santiago to make the transportation of both men and metal between the two locales difficult and inconvenient. As a consequence, by government decree in September 1827, a mint was established at Coquimbo to be managed under prominent local citizen Gregorio Cordovez. While he was formally authorized to obtain the minting supplies he required from the mint in Santiago, the superintendent there, J. S. Portales, was only able to provide him with defective equipment, and no official dies were forthcoming; Cordovez even had to buy blank dies from a local mining company. Using his own skill, Teodoro Hagen then engraved a set dies from which 20 trials were produced for approval from Santiago, all of which were subsequently melted. On November 18th, Cordovez sent a second trial issue to Santiago, struck from modified dies from the first trial which had been reengraved by Hagen to remove the faults. These again, however, failed to pass inspections, with the outbreak of revolution in 1829 resulting in the definitive closure of the mint by November 1830.
While it is difficult to pin down exact dates, sometime in the period from 1828 to 1829 a transition occurred at Coquimbo, whereby a series of pieces were produced from professionally made hubs and punches, resulting in the well-known distinction between the early "crude" hand-made issues and these later "fine" products. Although the later productions have historically received greater praise for their sharp and uniform designs--with the lack of proper research into archival documents until Jara Moreno's study, published in 2001, leading some to question whether the "crude" pieces were even contemporary--it is in fact the earlier types that represent the rarest collectible coins of this short-lived series. Whereas approximately 11-12 examples of the fine issue are known (two of which reside in the institutional collections of the British Museum and Banco de Chile), Jara Moreno cites a mere 5 of the early crude type, which we can expand as follows:
1) Almanzar's (December 1976, lot 387) [cover lot]. (Jara Moreno-pg. 49, 1) = KM88 Plate Coin.
2) The Paramount specimen (this coin). Leu Numismatik Auction 89 (October 2003, Lot 440); Adriana Garcia Burr Collection; A. Eidelstein Collection (Henry Christensen 1966, Lot 4074) (Jara Moreno-pg. 49, 2)
3) The Elizondo-98 Plate Coin. (Jara Moreno-pg. 50, 3)
4) Private Chilean Collection. Purchased from the Ross Collection in 1995; Luis Ross Collection. (Jara Moreno-pg. 50, 5)
5) The R. E. Collection specimen. (Jara Moreno-pg. 50, 5)
6) The Museo Historico de Chile (Banco Central de Chile Collection) specimen. Arrieta Cañas Collection. (Jara Moreno-pg. 50, 6)
Of the 3 examples we have sold, we have never handled a representative of this type. Even more intriguing, sales records over the past 20 years reveal that no other examples have been available, aside from this specimen. An absolutely incredible offering that will easily be the highlight of its next collection.
https://coins.ha.com/itm/chile/chile-republic-volcano-peso-1828-coquimbo-th-au55-ngc-/a/3096-30141.s?type=CoinArchives3096
HID02906262019
© 2020 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved
Estimate: 15000-25000 USD