Heritage World Coin Auctions
CICF Signature Sale 3032 10-12 April 2014
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Honduras
Republic bronze Proof Pattern 8 Pesos 1862 T-A, Minted in England, KM-Pn4, PR64 Brown NGC. A Choice example, well struck with handsome chocolate surfaces. The long series issued as Moneda Provisional del Estado de Honduras between 1832 and 1861 showed a constant decay in both fineness and workmanship. The 1853 issue had only 0.04 fineness (!) while the 1856-onwards 4 and 8 Reales were struck over low quality pure copper flans without any trace of silver. By the late 1850's, Gresham's law was in effect and the going exchange rate for these low quality issues was of around 64 to 1 (1 Real of good silver was worth 64 Reales in provisional copper coins). This state of affairs could not be endured for long and so the issuance of a higher quality provisional copper issue was commissioned in England to recall the previous Moneda Provisional circulating coins. These correspond to the rather handsome 1862 copper issues. Note that the denominations of these coins are stated in Moneda Provisional and the dies were never intended to be struck in gold, contrary to a long-held theory. In fact, they were from the start intended to be struck in copper and were aimed at recalling the previous provisional copper issues then in circulation. An interesting characteristic of the design is that it finally substitutes the Mountain Range typical of the Central American Federation with the Honduran coat of Arms. Patterns of these coins are known and can be distinguished by the rosettes instead of dots on the stops of the legends. They are very scarce and in demand due to their contrasting high quality compared with the often worn regular series coins. The present handsome example is one of the finer 8 Pesos patterns seen by the cataloguer and should attract strong interest.
Estimate: 1500-2000 USD
Republic bronze Proof Pattern 8 Pesos 1862 T-A, Minted in England, KM-Pn4, PR64 Brown NGC. A Choice example, well struck with handsome chocolate surfaces. The long series issued as Moneda Provisional del Estado de Honduras between 1832 and 1861 showed a constant decay in both fineness and workmanship. The 1853 issue had only 0.04 fineness (!) while the 1856-onwards 4 and 8 Reales were struck over low quality pure copper flans without any trace of silver. By the late 1850's, Gresham's law was in effect and the going exchange rate for these low quality issues was of around 64 to 1 (1 Real of good silver was worth 64 Reales in provisional copper coins). This state of affairs could not be endured for long and so the issuance of a higher quality provisional copper issue was commissioned in England to recall the previous Moneda Provisional circulating coins. These correspond to the rather handsome 1862 copper issues. Note that the denominations of these coins are stated in Moneda Provisional and the dies were never intended to be struck in gold, contrary to a long-held theory. In fact, they were from the start intended to be struck in copper and were aimed at recalling the previous provisional copper issues then in circulation. An interesting characteristic of the design is that it finally substitutes the Mountain Range typical of the Central American Federation with the Honduran coat of Arms. Patterns of these coins are known and can be distinguished by the rosettes instead of dots on the stops of the legends. They are very scarce and in demand due to their contrasting high quality compared with the often worn regular series coins. The present handsome example is one of the finer 8 Pesos patterns seen by the cataloguer and should attract strong interest.
Estimate: 1500-2000 USD