Heritage World Coin Auctions
NYINC Signature Sale 3037 Sess. 1 4 January 2015
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Costa Rica
Republic countermarked 50 Centimos 1923 VF30 NGC, San Jose mint, KM154. Base coin VF, countermark Choice VF, thus quite attractive for the designation. By decree of July 10, 1923, all circulating coins of 25 and 50 Centavos were countermarked with a bifacial stamp to double their face value: as such, counterstamped 25 Centavos coins would be henceforth worth 50 Centimos, and counterstamped 50 Centavos coins worth 1 Colon. Since the silver minor coins struck from 1864 onwards were debased to .750 fineness (as opposed to the full fineness .900 coins struck in 1850-1855), it would have been most unusual, per Gresham's law, to still find said 1850-1855 coins in circulation as late as 1923. As a result, while 25 Centavos of the later types with the present countermark are plentiful (a total of 536,962 colones in coins of this denomination were countermarked, albeit rare dates such as the 1864-GW exist as correctly noted by KM), countermarked 25 Centavos dated 1850-1855 (KM103, in fact these had the old equivalent value of 1/4 Peso!) are naturally very elusive. A very rare combination, sure to attract close attention from the specialist.
Estimate: 1500-2000 USD
Republic countermarked 50 Centimos 1923 VF30 NGC, San Jose mint, KM154. Base coin VF, countermark Choice VF, thus quite attractive for the designation. By decree of July 10, 1923, all circulating coins of 25 and 50 Centavos were countermarked with a bifacial stamp to double their face value: as such, counterstamped 25 Centavos coins would be henceforth worth 50 Centimos, and counterstamped 50 Centavos coins worth 1 Colon. Since the silver minor coins struck from 1864 onwards were debased to .750 fineness (as opposed to the full fineness .900 coins struck in 1850-1855), it would have been most unusual, per Gresham's law, to still find said 1850-1855 coins in circulation as late as 1923. As a result, while 25 Centavos of the later types with the present countermark are plentiful (a total of 536,962 colones in coins of this denomination were countermarked, albeit rare dates such as the 1864-GW exist as correctly noted by KM), countermarked 25 Centavos dated 1850-1855 (KM103, in fact these had the old equivalent value of 1/4 Peso!) are naturally very elusive. A very rare combination, sure to attract close attention from the specialist.
Estimate: 1500-2000 USD