Bolivian Coinage reference

SimonW

Does anyone have any literary sources for Bolivian Republic pieces? 1827-1863, 8,4,2,1 and 1/2 soles (any and all.) I’ve had a hard time finding much in way of…well, anything! 😅 Old our new.

Much appreciated!

pruebas

The only Bolivian reference I know of is for procs.

Boosibri

Agree, don’t think one exists

ELuis

Do not know if this might help you, it is in Spanish:

Banco Central de Bolivia
MUSEO VIRTUAL DE BILLETES Y MONEDAS [VIRTUAL MUSEUM OF BANKNOTES AND COINS]
https://www.bcb.gob.bo/?q=museo-virtual

Edit: and do not know if brings more info as the one on the Krause catalogs.

SimonW

I’ve seen that, thanks Eluis. I speak Spanish, so that’s just fine.

I really think someone should work on the National Bolivian coin collection. It’s severely lacking.

coinkat

I suspect you are looking for something far more comprehensive but the Julius Guttag collection arranged by Edgar Adams has some pages dedicated to Bolivian coinage- this book dates back to 1974 and was published by Quarterman Publications

pruebas

@coinkat said:
I suspect you are looking for something far more comprehensive but the Julius Guttag collection arranged by Edgar Adams has some pages dedicated to Bolivian coinage- this book dates back to 1974 and was published by Quarterman Publications

Actually the Guttag book dates to 1927-ish. You have a reprint.

SimonW

Did they update the reprint at all? I’ve seen the original.

pruebas

No. They just reprinted it to make it more available.

pruebas

I heard that early Paul Bosco catalogs had lots of Bolivian and might serve as a reference of sorts.

coinkat

1929- And yes... mine is a reprint

WCC

@SimonW said:

I really think someone should work on the National Bolivian coin collection. It’s severely lacking.

I attended a public event in 1975 (like a county fair) when my family was living in Bolivia. There was a surprisingly good exhibit of Bolivian coinage but at the age of 10, I can't remember what was in it.

Mostly though, I suspect the national collection (whatever there is of it) doesn't meet US collector standards because practically all of the better coinage left the country a long time ago. It's possible a lot of it ended up being melted too in the 1979/1980 silver boom, like the thousands of Bolivianos I saw in the markets. It wasn't worth very much at the time. None of that apparently since I have been back as an adult.

TheGoonies1985

Maybe this I own a copy it is a great book for the price:

https://worldnumismatics.com/product/standard-catalog-of-world-coins-spain-portugal-and-the-new-world-by-chester-l-krause-clifford-mishler-colin-r-bruce-ii-senior-editor/

A must own in my opinion.

Boosibri

@pruebas said:
I heard that early Paul Bosco catalogs had lots of Bolivian and might serve as a reference of sorts.

Freeman Craig sales too. He did a nice job of providing context on certain coins in the descriptions. Been very helpful to me in the past.

WCC

@Boosibri said:

@pruebas said:
I heard that early Paul Bosco catalogs had lots of Bolivian and might serve as a reference of sorts.

Freeman Craig sales too. He did a nice job of providing context on certain coins in the descriptions. Been very helpful to me in the past.

Decimal or pre-decimal?

I wasn't aware Paul Bosco conducted auctions. I bought the NGC MS-64 1875 Boliviano from him as an AU but sold it in 2006 to fund acquisitions from the Heritage Whittier sale.

I still regret selling the coin.

pruebas

@WCC said:

@Boosibri said:

@pruebas said:
I heard that early Paul Bosco catalogs had lots of Bolivian and might serve as a reference of sorts.

Freeman Craig sales too. He did a nice job of providing context on certain coins in the descriptions. Been very helpful to me in the past.

Decimal or pre-decimal?

I wasn't aware Paul Bosco conducted auctions. I bought the NGC MS-64 1875 Boliviano from him as an AU but sold it in 2006 to fund acquisitions from the Heritage Whittier sale.

I still regret selling the coin.

@WCC maybe they were fixed price lists? I’m just recalling this from memory. Paul was a serious numismatist in the 1970s (before my time as a collector).

ELuis

Found these, no idea if they are avail... or if they could help

ELuis

.

JohnnyCache

@pruebas said:

@WCC said:

@Boosibri said:

@pruebas said:
I heard that early Paul Bosco catalogs had lots of Bolivian and might serve as a reference of sorts.

Freeman Craig sales too. He did a nice job of providing context on certain coins in the descriptions. Been very helpful to me in the past.

Decimal or pre-decimal?

I wasn't aware Paul Bosco conducted auctions. I bought the NGC MS-64 1875 Boliviano from him as an AU but sold it in 2006 to fund acquisitions from the Heritage Whittier sale.

I still regret selling the coin.

@WCC maybe they were fixed price lists? I’m just recalling this from memory. Paul was a serious numismatist in the 1970s (before my time as a collector).

 
 

No you're remembering correctly, as I just bought one of his old auction catalogs for the info on chop marked coins

SimonW

Thanks folks! I picked up a few things that may be helpful from your suggestions!