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Uruguay: Republic gold Pattern 40 Reales 1854-Mo AU58 NGC,...
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$38,775.00
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Description
Impressive 40 Reales Gold Pattern of Uruguay
A Classic Latin Rarity!
Republic gold Pattern 40 Reales 1854-Mo AU58 NGC, Montevideo
mint, KM-Pn2, Fr-1. A quite handsome coin for the technical
designation, essentially Mint State with no rubbing evidence on the
higher points, nearly full mint brilliance and only minute surface
handling marks defining the grade. A tad weakly struck below the
date on the obverse and near "POR" on the reverse, as is the case
for all of the examples examined by the cataloguer. One of the most
legendary rarities in the South American Republican gold series,
missing from all the classical collections and apparently the only
example offered for public consideration in the past 100 years! The
law of July 22, 1854 authorized the minting of gold coins of 10, 20
and 40 Reales, weighing respectively 33.75, 67.5 and 135 "granos"
and of 21 carat (.875) fineness. The authorized amounts for each of
these denominations were of 50,000 coins, 25,000 coins and 25,000
coins respectively. In all probability, only a handful of the
latter denomination (40 Reales) were struck, and these are
therefore usually considered as patterns although their
characteristics match exactly the aforementioned law of 1854. Note
that the "granos" (=grains) mass unit refers to the decimal grain
(=0.05 g) thus making the present coin (at a purported weight of
6.75 g) the equivalent of a Spanish Colonial 2 Escudos, although
the law referred to it as a "4 Escudos" coin. Today, the very few
known examples of the 40 Reales logically represent the pinnacle of
desirability in the Uruguayan series, based on a series of
considerations: a one-year type only, it is the first gold coin
legally struck by Uruguay, the only coin in the entire series to
bear the Montevideo "Mo" mintmark and, last but not least, its
rarity is unsurpassed. Indeed, only 6 examples of this iconic issue
are currently confirmed by the cataloguer, two of which are
permanently impounded as seen in the following census:- The present example, ex Derman collection and the finest seen in private hands by the cataloguer.
- The ANS example, ex-Norweb.
- Two examples in the BROU in Uruguay (one seemingly plugged below the date and the other plated as E-002 in Almeida).
- The example originally from the Felix Buxareo Oribe collection, plated in page 400 of the December 8, 1901 of the "Rojo y Blanco" weekly magazine and apparently none of the above since identified with a few rim dings. Buxareo was heir to one of the wealthiest 19th century Uruguayan families and a published author and well versed expert in the agricultural and cattle-breeding field. The whereabouts of this piece are unknown to the cataloguer.
- An example seen by the cataloguer and mounted in a contemporary bezel.
Despite much searching, the only public offering traced by the cataloguer that may refer to a different coin is in the 1905 sale of the Andres Lamas collection: an example part of lot "L" in the auction catalog "Monetario y archivo perteneciente a la sucesión del Dr. Andrés Lamas" (Buenos Aires, 1905) was described as "Moneda de 40 reales Cuño 1854 Oro" - translated as "gold coin of 40 Reales dated 1854". Missing in all classical collections reviewed - including Fonrobert, Ulex, Salbach, Rosa, Medina, Peltzer, Farouk and the more recent Eliasberg -, one of the most iconic gold issues of the South American series and in all likelihood the finest known example available thus immensely desirable as such.
Metal: Gold
Weight: 8.75g
Auction Info
2016 August 11 ANA World Coins & Ancient Coins Signature Auction - Anaheim #3048 (go to Auction Home page)
Auction Dates
August, 2016
11th
Thursday
Bids + Registered Phone Bidders: 7
Lot Tracking Activity: N/A
Page Views: 2,155
Buyer's Premium per Lot:
17.5% of the successful bid per lot.
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