Watch List notes:

Chile (struck at the Paris Mint), white metal essai pattern for 1/2 decimo, 1851, rare. KM-PnA9 var. 1.26 grams. The obverse features a portrait of Liberty with laurel of putti (cherubs), a somewhat whimsical design that the famous Paris engraver Barre (whose name appears below) experimented with for several years after the Concours Monetaire of 1848, but the design was never adopted for production coinage for France or any other country. The reverse design bears a three-line inscription PRESSES / MONETAIRES / DU CHILI / ESSAI above the date 1851, in reference to Chile's commissioning of a steam-powered coin press from France as part of their adoption of the decimal standard on January 9 of that year. The elegant obverse design is more commonly seen in larger denominations and in other metals, this one being an alloy of 61% iridium, 10% tin and 26% lead (according to XRF testing). AU with tinges of luster and darker areas, a few minor nicks (mostly in rims). Pedigreed to the Coleccion Val y Mexia (stated on special NGC label that accompanies this piece).


Estimate: 400 - 600 USD