Watch List notes:

LOCOMOTIVES & TRAINS. Argentina - Bolivia. Quartet of Medals (4 Pieces), 1908-23. Grade Range: CHOICE EXTREMELY FINE to UNCIRCULATED.
1) Argentina - Bolivia. Locomotive bronze Medal. Issued 1908. Commemorating the inauguration of Argentine railways to Bolivia (31mm, 13.05 g, 12h). By J. Gottuzzo. Obverse: Female personification of Argentina right, resting hand upon track builder and pointing out locomotive in a pass at a distance; to right, genius standing left, with back facing, holding torch and palm frond; between them all, short wall reading "FERRO-CAR[RIL] / A / BOLIVIA / 1908" in four lines; Reverse: "LEY 3225 / JUJUY Á LA QUIACA / INAUGURACION / DE LOS TRABAJOS / 6 DE ENERO 1903 / LIBRADA / AL SERVICIO PÚBLICO / 25 DE MAYO 1908 / EMPRESA CONSTRUCTORA / LUIS STREMIZ Y CA" in ten lines. Edge: Plain. Mint State. Warm brown surfaces, with some hints of brilliance.

This railway connected the remote city of San Salvador de Jujuy with that of La Quiaca, a small city on the extreme northwestern limits of the country. With the Bolivian city of Villazón bordering it on the northern side of the Río de la Quiaca, the service essentially connected this portion of Argentina with neighboring Bolivia.

2) Argentina - Bolivia. Locomotive silvered bronze Medal. Issued 1908. Commemorating the inauguration of Argentine railways to Bolivia (65mm, 114.80 g, 12h). By J. Gottuzzo. Obverse: Female personification of Argentina right, resting hand upon track builder and pointing out locomotive in a pass at a distance; to right, genius standing left, with back facing, holding torch and palm frond; between them all, short wall reading "FERRO-CAR[RIL] / A / BOLIVIA / 1908" in four lines; Reverse: Garnished and ornamented scroll reading "LEY 3225 / JUJUY A LA QUIACA / INAUGURACION DE LOS TRABAJOS / 6 DE ENERO DE 1903 / LIBRADA AL SERVICIO / PÚBLICO / 25 DE MAYO DE 1908 / EMPRESA CONSTRUCTORA / LUIS STREMIZ Y CIA" in nine lines; radiant sun above; all within garlanded laurel wreath. Edge: A few scattered marks, otherwise plain. Choice Extremely Fine. Light steely gray surfaces, with some rub upon the high points.

3) Argentina. Locomotive silvered bronze Medal. Issued 1910. Commemorating the commencement of the underground network by Anglo-Argentina in Buenos Aires (50mm, 44.37 g, 12h). By J. M. Lubary. Obverse: Female personification of Argentina left, placing laurel branch above header of seated tunnel worker to left; between them, a tunnel from which a track emerges; Palacio del Congreso Nacional Argentino with rising sun in background upon the horizon; Reverse: "INAUGURACIÓN / DE LOS / TRABAJOS DE LA / RED SUBTERRÁNEA / TRAMWAY / ANGLO ARGENTINO / BUENOS AIRES / 1910" in eight lines. Edge: A few marks and discoloration, otherwise plain. Extremely Fine Details. Light gray surfaces, with some scattered spots and hairlines in the upper reverse field.

4) Argentina. Locomotive silvered bronze Plaque. Issued 1923. Commemorating the inauguration of the electrified western railway from Plaza Once (Buenos Aires) to Moreno (63x49mm, 67.11 g, 12h). By Gottuzzo y Piana. Obverse: Hermes/Mercury (representing commerce) and female muse to left, standing and reclining, respectively; to right, male factory worker standing left, holding hammer set upon anvil and looking toward background at train station with both a locomotive and electrified cars upon tracks; Reverse: "FERROCARRIL OESTE DE BUENOS AIRES LTDA / INAUGURACIÓN OFICIAL DEL SERVICIO ELÉCTRICO / ENTRE LAS ESTACIONES PLAZA ONCE Y MORENO / COMBINADO CON EL SUBTERRANEO / DE LA COMPAÑIA DE TRANVIAS ANGLO ARGENTINA / AUTORIZADO POR LEY DE LA NACIÓN N° 7846 / PRESIDENTE DE LA NACIÓN / DR. MARCELO T. DE ALVEAR / PRESIDENTE DEL DIRECTORIO DE LA COMPAÑIA / SIR HENRY BELL, BART / PRESIDENTE DEL DIRECTORIO LOCAL / ALEJANDRO F. LÉRTORA / 30-IV-1923" in 13 lines. Edge: BRONCE. Choice About Uncirculated. Highly argent and brilliant, with a few light spots and scattered hairlines on the reverse.

Entering a modernizing of Argentina's railways, electrified rails were placed between a suburban section of Buenos Aires at Plaza Once running west some 36 km to the city of Moreno. According to the "Railways of South America," "...the electric service was formally opened to the public on April 30, 1923," with there being "...14 stations on the main line, the greatest distance between stations being 6 kilometers, and the minimum distance 1 kilometer. The electric passenger trains do not run into the Once Terminal Station but to the Underground Station of the Anglo-Argentine Tramway Co. at Plaza Once."

Estimate: $150 - $300