Details
LOT 4278
Mexico, Republic AR 8 Reales. Dated 1860PF. Casa de Moneda de Guanajuato mint.
Phrygian cap inscribed LIBERTAD surrounded by radiant display; denomination, mintmark, date, assayer's initials and purity below / REPUBLICA MEXICANA •, eagle, with wings spread and head to right, alighting to left on cactus and holding serpent in beak and right talon; laurel and oak wreath below. KM 377.8. Good Fine.(26.83gr, 38mm, 6h.).
Provenance
From the private collection of author and historian Dr DeWitt Bailey, one of the global authorities on the confederate army in the US civil war; thence by descent to his grandson.
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RELATED LOTS
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Good Very Fine. Toned. Bisecting die crack in date.
From the private collection of author and historian Dr DeWitt Bailey; thence by descent to his grandson.
The year 1861 was a time of upheaval for the New Orleans Mint. It began under US control, but Louisiana's secession in early 1861 led to a brief period of state-run coinage. With Louisiana joining the Confederacy, production continued until the mint ran out of blanks. This seemingly minor detail, a die crack running from Liberty's nose, holds immense historical significance. Early in the Confederacy's existence, four half dollars were struck using a proposed new reverse die paired with a standard US obverse die. This specific die had the telltale crack. Further production by the Confederacy used the same cracked obverse die alongside a different reverse die. This, along with the later die state of the crack, confirms Confederate minting beyond the initial four coins. Extensive research by Wiley and Bugert identified specific die pairings as definitive proof of Confederate coinage. The Confederacy's official coin production was minimal, limited to a small number of cents (mostly restrikes) that never saw full circulation. Therefore, these half dollars with the die crack stand as exceptional historical artifacts, minted during the Confederacy's infancy in the spring of 1861. -
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The arrows either side of the date were added to indicate that the standard coin weight had been reduced from the previous issue.
