Happy 200th Anniversary of Independence to Central America!

MrEureka

Post a Central American coin to help us celebrate!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Act_of_Independence_of_Central_America

MrEureka

Stella

Here's a holiday I am ready for!

RaraAvis

TwoKopeiki

Throw back to that time I spent a week lugging medical equipment and taking photos in a hospital in Catacamas with an ophthalmology surgery brigade.

MrEureka

MrEureka

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FistFullOfDollars

Nice looking coins, I might need to add additional types to my collection.

TwoKopeiki

@MrEureka said:

Nice clear undertype !

Stella

One more...

scubafuel

ELuis

@Stella These are nice design coins, have seen it avail, not cheap, the last one I saw in MS60 1836 at $1,250USD, one of these day, will get one.

JohnnyCache

@MrEureka said:

So this piece is struck over an 1857 seated quarter?
Is it typical that U.S. coinage would make its way down to Central America so quickly to get repurposed?

MrEureka

@JohnnyCache said:

@MrEureka said:

So this piece is struck over an 1857 seated quarter?
Is it typical that U.S. coinage would make its way down to Central America so quickly to get repurposed?

The fact that the coin made it there in 4 years doesn't strike me as unusual, but there weren't many situations where US coins got "repurposed". Bust Dollars being recoined by Brazil as 960 Reis come to mind. Also a variety of US coins countermarked by Costa Rica and Puerto Rico. And I'm probably forgetting some others.

As for the Salvadoran piece I posted, it's a pattern. They're very rare, they exist on a wide variety of planchets, and it's unclear when and where they were struck. (I think they were all struck in El Salvador, possibly as originals and later as restrikes, but I can't back that up.) This is the only one I've seen struck on another coin.

JohnnyCache

Thank you for the reply.
It's very interesting. I wish the coin could talk, I'm sure the story would be fascinating.

Just a couple of things if I could and then I promise I won't ask anything else....

With the date of the host coin so close to the pattern date, does it lend itself to the thought that this particular piece would more likely be an original strike vs a restrike?

I'm curious, if you should know, did they do anything to the seated coin prior to striking? In other words, did they make any attempts to eradicate the existing design. I am assuming from the prominent details showing through that they didn't and simply struck over it? Are the other planchets not blank as well?

Also curious, in the case of this coin, where the examples are very rare - period, and it is known that there were a variety of planchets used, does the particular planchet type play into the desirability or valuation of the pattern coin? Or is this a case were rarity is so extreme you should just be thankful to even see one, any one.

*spelling edit

SYRACUSIAN

@TwoKopeiki said:
Throw back to that time I spent a week lugging medical equipment and taking photos in a hospital in Catacamas with an ophthalmology surgery brigade.

This is one of the most unexpected posts that I’ve ever read in this forum, which as a side effect, also helps me to understand how you get to choose a certain country, besides the beauty of the coins, or whatever other reason exists but nothing personal.

Nice post Roman! You’re full of surprises!

PS: five of the eight waiting patients are wearing a patch on their left eye, two of them on their right eye and only one woman has no patch at all….

MrEureka

@JohnnyCache said:
With the date of the host coin so close to the pattern date, does it lend itself to the thought that this particular piece would more likely be an original strike vs a restrike?

I'm curious, if you should know, did they do anything to the seated coin prior to striking? In other words, did they make any attempts to eradicate the existing design. I am assuming from the prominent details showing through that they didn't and simply struck over it? Are the other planchets not blank as well?

Also curious, in the case of this coin, where the examples are very rare - period, and it is known that there were a variety of planchets used, does the particular planchet type play into the desirability or valuation of the pattern coin? Or is this a case were rarity is so extreme you should just be thankful to even see one, any one.

I think it's somewhat more likely that if the decision were made to overstrike some random foreign coin, it would more likely be on something somewhat recently issued, simply because that's what would have been more commonly available. But the fact that it was struck on a four year old coin proves nothing, of course.

No, I don't think anything was done to prepare the undertype for recoinage. It is possible, however, that the failed attempt to obliterate the undertype motivated the creation of the other types of planchets.

As for the desirability of the different types of planchets, I'd say that silver is generally better than brass or copper, especially for an denomination that would have been produced in silver. And I'd say that the use of a US undertype adds value for collectors in the US, but probably not for anyone else.

One last thought. I particularly like this piece because it shows substantial signs of circulation. For a coin that could have been struck in 1861 or restruck at a later date for the numismatic market, the wear makes it easier to believe that it was actually struck in 1861. After all, a coin collector probably wouldn't carry a great rarity as a pocket piece. Again, it proves nothing, but it works for me.

scubafuel

A certain 1827 quarter comes to mind, but I see your point. In any case it's a very interesting specimen.

TwoKopeiki

@SYRACUSIAN said:

Nice post Roman! You’re full of surprises!

PS: five of the eight waiting patients are wearing a patch on their left eye, two of them on their right eye and only one woman has no patch at all….

Thanks man. The cool part of the team doing 50+ cataracts surgeries in just a few days was the morning after post-op check when patients were able to see again. Never realized the change was this immediate. Tremendously rewarding for the docs and I think one of the reasons they brought some of the more promising med school students along to assist. I was there because I'm very easy to talk into adventure-type things. We'll catch-up when that kind of attitude gets me to Greece in the future

SYRACUSIAN

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