Heritage World Coin Auctions
CICF Signature Sale 3032 10-12 April 2014
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Colombia
Copper Provisional 8 Reales 1813, Popayan mint, KM-B3, C-77, AU58 Brown NGC. Very close to mint state and thus very desirable for this popular type, a copper one-year emergency coinage. This is almost certainly the smallest diameter "8 Reales" issued in the Americas: the planchets are of 1 Real size with the proper colonial edge design. Although often catalogued as a Royalist emergency issue, (Barriga Villalba (Historia de la Casa de Moneda, Vol. 2, pp. 129-131) was of this opinion, and see for example Heritage Auctions, 4/2011, lot 23703 when this specimen was described as Royalist, following the experts' opinion at the time), Restrepo (quoting Barriga del Diestro) catalogs this as struck by the patriots albeit in Royalist style, without giving more information. He is correct: an almost contemporary source (Apuntamientos para la Revolucion de la Nueva Granapa, especialmente con respect a la Provincia de Popayan, by Santiago Arroyo y Valencia, 1824), indicates the following: "The [Patriotic] Junta, while based in Quilichao, agreed to mint copper coinage with a nominal value: reales (sic., in fact ½ Reales were issued), pesetas (2 Reales) and pesos (8 Reales, such as the present specimen) would be struck and were issued later; the larger of these coins had only the weight of a bit more than the silver 1 Real (correct!). This anti-economic measure caused the usual consequences: circulate on other locations (export, Gresham's law!) a coin with only imaginary value so that it has none in the commerce. The habitants of Popayan, among which almost 20,000 pesos were distributed, particularly suffered this harm. The Congress of the Union approved the minting of 200,000 pesos of this coinage, under the warranties of the Federated Provinces". Of utmost importance to the Colombian numismatists, this apparently little known source gives mintage figures for this fascinating issue. Ex: Dana Roberts Collection.
Estimate: 500-800 USD
Copper Provisional 8 Reales 1813, Popayan mint, KM-B3, C-77, AU58 Brown NGC. Very close to mint state and thus very desirable for this popular type, a copper one-year emergency coinage. This is almost certainly the smallest diameter "8 Reales" issued in the Americas: the planchets are of 1 Real size with the proper colonial edge design. Although often catalogued as a Royalist emergency issue, (Barriga Villalba (Historia de la Casa de Moneda, Vol. 2, pp. 129-131) was of this opinion, and see for example Heritage Auctions, 4/2011, lot 23703 when this specimen was described as Royalist, following the experts' opinion at the time), Restrepo (quoting Barriga del Diestro) catalogs this as struck by the patriots albeit in Royalist style, without giving more information. He is correct: an almost contemporary source (Apuntamientos para la Revolucion de la Nueva Granapa, especialmente con respect a la Provincia de Popayan, by Santiago Arroyo y Valencia, 1824), indicates the following: "The [Patriotic] Junta, while based in Quilichao, agreed to mint copper coinage with a nominal value: reales (sic., in fact ½ Reales were issued), pesetas (2 Reales) and pesos (8 Reales, such as the present specimen) would be struck and were issued later; the larger of these coins had only the weight of a bit more than the silver 1 Real (correct!). This anti-economic measure caused the usual consequences: circulate on other locations (export, Gresham's law!) a coin with only imaginary value so that it has none in the commerce. The habitants of Popayan, among which almost 20,000 pesos were distributed, particularly suffered this harm. The Congress of the Union approved the minting of 200,000 pesos of this coinage, under the warranties of the Federated Provinces". Of utmost importance to the Colombian numismatists, this apparently little known source gives mintage figures for this fascinating issue. Ex: Dana Roberts Collection.
Estimate: 500-800 USD