Stack's Bowers & Ponterio
January 2023 NYINC Auction 13-16 Jan 2023
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EL SALVADOR. El Salvador - El Salvador - United States - Peru. 2 Reales, ND (1873). PCGS VG-8, Countermark: Fine Details.
KM-Unlisted (El Salvador - Type VII); KM-62 (El Salvador - Type V); Miller NY-583 (merchant store card counterstamp); Brunk-M-788 (merchant store card counterstamp); KM-53 (for host). An unlikely item, certainly UNIQUE as seen, that began its journey in 1754 where it was struck in the Peruvian capital of Lima. Circulating for what was likely many decades, the coin eventually arrived in the United States, being present in New York City in the late 1850's. It was here that this 2 Reales was stamped by the Franklin Museum "ADMIT / TO THE / MODEL ARTIST / 127 GRAND ST / NEAR B.WAY." The use of a foreign issue at this time may point to the Mint Act of 1857 in which the United States revoked the legal tender status of all circulating foreign coins. Possibly as a result of this demonetization in the U.S., it surfaced again around a decade later, this time in Central America's El Salvador. Sometime following the local decree of September 28, 1868, a circular stamp with the country's arms was applied to the Shield side of its host coin in order to certify its legitimacy to circulate there. Finally, sometime after the decree of 1873--which declared that all British coins presently circulating be stamped with a circular punch (the stamp was different than the previous type and carried no wreath below the arms)--it would appear that this piece was punched yet again, this time likely mistakenly; perhaps it was the applier's inability to read English that led him to believe that the U.S. merchant stamp rendered the coin as being British in nature. In any event, the timing associated with the countermarks presents a very vivid chronology of this piece, as it led multiple lives in South, North, and Central America from the mid-18th century to the latter part of the 19th.
KM-Unlisted (El Salvador - Type VII); KM-62 (El Salvador - Type V); Miller NY-583 (merchant store card counterstamp); Brunk-M-788 (merchant store card counterstamp); KM-53 (for host). An unlikely item, certainly UNIQUE as seen, that began its journey in 1754 where it was struck in the Peruvian capital of Lima. Circulating for what was likely many decades, the coin eventually arrived in the United States, being present in New York City in the late 1850's. It was here that this 2 Reales was stamped by the Franklin Museum "ADMIT / TO THE / MODEL ARTIST / 127 GRAND ST / NEAR B.WAY." The use of a foreign issue at this time may point to the Mint Act of 1857 in which the United States revoked the legal tender status of all circulating foreign coins. Possibly as a result of this demonetization in the U.S., it surfaced again around a decade later, this time in Central America's El Salvador. Sometime following the local decree of September 28, 1868, a circular stamp with the country's arms was applied to the Shield side of its host coin in order to certify its legitimacy to circulate there. Finally, sometime after the decree of 1873--which declared that all British coins presently circulating be stamped with a circular punch (the stamp was different than the previous type and carried no wreath below the arms)--it would appear that this piece was punched yet again, this time likely mistakenly; perhaps it was the applier's inability to read English that led him to believe that the U.S. merchant stamp rendered the coin as being British in nature. In any event, the timing associated with the countermarks presents a very vivid chronology of this piece, as it led multiple lives in South, North, and Central America from the mid-18th century to the latter part of the 19th.
While this coin's voyage around the Americas certainly paints a fascinating picture, there's little doubt that its visit to the Franklin Museum was the most interesting. Despite the wholesome name, this operation often featured entertainment acts that can be most appropriately described as a forerunner to the burlesque show. As a guise to modesty, one of the popular acts was known as tableaux vivants, which reconstructed famous artistic scenes that contained nude or semi-nude women as the primary subject. A period advertisement read: "THE ORIGINAL AND ONLY TROUPE OF MODEL Artistes (sc.), consisting of twenty-seven young ladies, appear at the Franklin Museum, 127 Grand street, every afternoon and evening, in a selection of living pictures, with a great variety of other entertainments." If only coins could tell stories, this enigmatic and unrivaled piece would certainly have more than its fair share!
Ex: Matthew Orsini Collection.
Ex: Richard Stuart Collection.
Estimate: $3000 - $5000