Heritage World Coin Auctions
NYINC Signature Sale 3037 Sess. 2-4 5 January 2015
View prices realized
► Sale information
Find similar lots
Honduras
Republic gold 10 Pesos 1883 AU50 NGC, Tegucigalpa mint, KM58, Fr-5. Borderline Mint State and attractive for the designation with the extant handling marks well within the confines of the designation, quite lustrous surfaces and limited friction evidence on the higher points.The gold coins of 20 and 10 Pesos minted in Honduras in the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries rank amongst the rarest gold issues of Latin America and - in fact - of the entire world modern series. The confirmed population for these two iconic gold types is similar: 15 specimens for the 10 Pesos and 13 for the 20 Pesos have been confirmed by the cataloger. The former might appear less elusive in the present market but this is due to the fortuitous (but beneficial to the collector community) appearance of a small group of specimens of 10 pesos dated 1883 around ten years ago. Prior to that, no sales for the 10 pesos denomination had occurred in more than 60 years, the sole specimen offered being the ex-Virgil Brand specimen (Glendining's 3/1936, lot 226) later part of the Louis Eliasberg collection. That legendary numismatist was proud enough of this example to display it as a highlight of his holdings in the April 27, 1953 issue of Life Magazine. The aforementioned group of thirteen 1883 10 Pesos were struck at a slightly later date, as was accepted and legal practice at the Tegucigalpa mint, probably as wedding tokens for a (very) wealthy groom for his future wife. This in indeed confirmed by two almost contemporary and independent reports proving that Honduras did not strike regular issue gold coins until 1888: a testimony from Mr. Consul Herring on the Honduran coinage of 1885 included in the 1888 "Report of the (United States) Director of the Mint" states that "There has never been any gold coined in the country" while Esteban Lazo ("Historia de la Moneda en Honduras", October 16, 1888) indicates that the first gold gold in denominations of 20, 5 and 1 peso (note the absence of the 10 Pesos denomination) minted in "... May of this year (of 1888)" were the first gold coins minted in Honduras and as such will represent a milestone in the story of the country".In any case, said group was undoubtedly beneficial for the numismatic community, since what represented before an essentially uncollectible and unknown type is now extremely rare and desirable. A few lucky collectors can thus pride themselves in owning an example of this legendary issue, such as Louis Eliasberg did more than 60 years ago. Many of the 1883 dated specimens have been slightly mishandled. One of those sold in London for nearly the equivalent of $18,000 hammer (Baldwin's 9/2014, lot 3141 @ 11,000 GBP). This unflawed and undoubtedly better preserved specimen should elicit comparably greater interest.
Estimate: 25000-30000 USD
Republic gold 10 Pesos 1883 AU50 NGC, Tegucigalpa mint, KM58, Fr-5. Borderline Mint State and attractive for the designation with the extant handling marks well within the confines of the designation, quite lustrous surfaces and limited friction evidence on the higher points.The gold coins of 20 and 10 Pesos minted in Honduras in the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries rank amongst the rarest gold issues of Latin America and - in fact - of the entire world modern series. The confirmed population for these two iconic gold types is similar: 15 specimens for the 10 Pesos and 13 for the 20 Pesos have been confirmed by the cataloger. The former might appear less elusive in the present market but this is due to the fortuitous (but beneficial to the collector community) appearance of a small group of specimens of 10 pesos dated 1883 around ten years ago. Prior to that, no sales for the 10 pesos denomination had occurred in more than 60 years, the sole specimen offered being the ex-Virgil Brand specimen (Glendining's 3/1936, lot 226) later part of the Louis Eliasberg collection. That legendary numismatist was proud enough of this example to display it as a highlight of his holdings in the April 27, 1953 issue of Life Magazine. The aforementioned group of thirteen 1883 10 Pesos were struck at a slightly later date, as was accepted and legal practice at the Tegucigalpa mint, probably as wedding tokens for a (very) wealthy groom for his future wife. This in indeed confirmed by two almost contemporary and independent reports proving that Honduras did not strike regular issue gold coins until 1888: a testimony from Mr. Consul Herring on the Honduran coinage of 1885 included in the 1888 "Report of the (United States) Director of the Mint" states that "There has never been any gold coined in the country" while Esteban Lazo ("Historia de la Moneda en Honduras", October 16, 1888) indicates that the first gold gold in denominations of 20, 5 and 1 peso (note the absence of the 10 Pesos denomination) minted in "... May of this year (of 1888)" were the first gold coins minted in Honduras and as such will represent a milestone in the story of the country".In any case, said group was undoubtedly beneficial for the numismatic community, since what represented before an essentially uncollectible and unknown type is now extremely rare and desirable. A few lucky collectors can thus pride themselves in owning an example of this legendary issue, such as Louis Eliasberg did more than 60 years ago. Many of the 1883 dated specimens have been slightly mishandled. One of those sold in London for nearly the equivalent of $18,000 hammer (Baldwin's 9/2014, lot 3141 @ 11,000 GBP). This unflawed and undoubtedly better preserved specimen should elicit comparably greater interest.
Estimate: 25000-30000 USD