Heritage World Coin Auctions
NYINC Signature Sale 3037 Sess. 2-4 5 January 2015
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Uruguay
Republic Siege Peso 1844 MS64 NGC, Montevideo mint, KM5. A Choice Mint State example with very attractive cartwheel luster and light toning, well struck over a problem-free planchet and amazingly clean surfaces. The 1844 Peso is easily Uruguay's most iconic issue and was struck during the siege of the city by General Oribe (Oribe was under Argentine dictator Rosas command) which lasted from 1842 until 1851 and was later referred to as the Modern Troy. The Montevideo mint had been reopened in 1844 under great difficulties and the silver used to strike the issue was obtained from the city's inhabitants including the religious authorities. There appears to be a discrepancy between the extant surviving specimens (Almeida estimated 250 pieces in all grades) and the measly reported mintage figures since existing mint records indicate 1,226 pieces struck in January 20-21, 1844 and accounted for on the following March 10. A clue to solve this mystery lies in testimonies from the mint's (re)opening ceremony where Andres Lamas (acting as Director Politico or mayor of Montevideo) gave the 2nd struck Peso to minister of Exchequer Jose de Bejar with the following words: "hereby lies the most evident proof of our inhabitants' generosity... since this coin is struck from the families' jewelry and the ornaments of their temples... Each one of these pesos shall only be bequeathed with profound veneration and distributed with religious zeal: they are worth one hundred times the value of common pesos which do not bear the motto: SITIO DE MONTEVIDEO." As a result of this zeal, most of these were kept as mementos and kept from the melting pot and did not circulate much (XF is a typical grade, as opposed to the copper issues also struck in 1844 which are usually found in low grade and obviously circulated extensively). Nevertheless, the Montevideo mint had obviously limited technical means in 1844 and thus planchet flaws and/or strike issues are also the norm for the siege Peso. As a result, truly superior specimens such as the present coin are highly elusive and desirable. One of the very finest known of this historical and very scarce necessity issue, very rare in this pristine preservation. Only one coin has been graded higher by NGC (and that hammered for $25,000 in 2014). Ex-Millenia collection.
Estimate: 7000-9000 USD
Republic Siege Peso 1844 MS64 NGC, Montevideo mint, KM5. A Choice Mint State example with very attractive cartwheel luster and light toning, well struck over a problem-free planchet and amazingly clean surfaces. The 1844 Peso is easily Uruguay's most iconic issue and was struck during the siege of the city by General Oribe (Oribe was under Argentine dictator Rosas command) which lasted from 1842 until 1851 and was later referred to as the Modern Troy. The Montevideo mint had been reopened in 1844 under great difficulties and the silver used to strike the issue was obtained from the city's inhabitants including the religious authorities. There appears to be a discrepancy between the extant surviving specimens (Almeida estimated 250 pieces in all grades) and the measly reported mintage figures since existing mint records indicate 1,226 pieces struck in January 20-21, 1844 and accounted for on the following March 10. A clue to solve this mystery lies in testimonies from the mint's (re)opening ceremony where Andres Lamas (acting as Director Politico or mayor of Montevideo) gave the 2nd struck Peso to minister of Exchequer Jose de Bejar with the following words: "hereby lies the most evident proof of our inhabitants' generosity... since this coin is struck from the families' jewelry and the ornaments of their temples... Each one of these pesos shall only be bequeathed with profound veneration and distributed with religious zeal: they are worth one hundred times the value of common pesos which do not bear the motto: SITIO DE MONTEVIDEO." As a result of this zeal, most of these were kept as mementos and kept from the melting pot and did not circulate much (XF is a typical grade, as opposed to the copper issues also struck in 1844 which are usually found in low grade and obviously circulated extensively). Nevertheless, the Montevideo mint had obviously limited technical means in 1844 and thus planchet flaws and/or strike issues are also the norm for the siege Peso. As a result, truly superior specimens such as the present coin are highly elusive and desirable. One of the very finest known of this historical and very scarce necessity issue, very rare in this pristine preservation. Only one coin has been graded higher by NGC (and that hammered for $25,000 in 2014). Ex-Millenia collection.
Estimate: 7000-9000 USD