Guatemala Gold Four Reales 1860, a tiny 9mm coin

WillieBoyd2

This tiny gold coin is possibly the smallest modern machine-struck coin ever made.


Guatemala 4 Reales 1860
Obverse: Rafael Carrera facing right / RAFAEL CARRERA P. DE LA R. DE GUATEMALA
Reverse: Wreath / 4 REALES 1860 / 21 Q R
Gold, 9mm, 0.83gm, 0.875 fine

The obverse has "FRENER F." under the bust but it is hard to read. Jean-Baptiste Frener was a Swiss engraver who lived in Guatemala from 1854 to 1897. He worked at the mint in Guatemala City.

The reverse "21 Q" is 21 Quilates (21 karat or 21/24 or 0.875 gold). The "R" is mint assayer Rafael Romaña. Many coin catalogs treat the "R" as a mint mark.

The original value was 4 reales or one-half peso, the equivalent of one-half US dollar. The coin is close in size to the little California fractional gold coins. It is smaller than the US silver three-cent piece and the "Panama Pill" 1904 2-1/2 centavos.

Rafael Carrera was a peasant and soldier who rose to power during the first part of the 19th century. He was President of Guatemala from 1854 to 1865 and managed to keep Guatemala independent of Mexico. He also instituted the coffee-growing industry there. Rafael Carrera died on April 14, 1865.

STLNATS

What a great coin. Must have taken a lot of attention to keep from losing. Thanks for sharing.

lordmarcovan

The die engraving work is superb. What a great little coin.



Like the puffin suggested, I'll bet a lot of these were lost, if they circulated much at all.



What's the diameter of the so-called "Panama Pill" in comparison to this?

Jackthecat1

The Panama Pill has a diameter of 10mm. This little guy has it beat.

lordmarcovan

Wow!



Now I can visualize it.

STLNATS

There were a few incredibly small ancient Greek silver coins that were smaller, but seemed to be unpopular and weren't long lived being replaced with more convenient copper coins. The standard Attic obol (1/6th of a drachm) weighed in at a relatively hefty .7 grams, while the smallest silver denomination was the hemitartemorion (1/8th of an obol), just under .1 grams and probably less than half the size of the 4 real piece. There is a mention of some of these small coins in a play by the satirist Aristophanes; jurors were paid 3 obols a day for their service and are said to have kept their pay in their mouth (between teeth and jaw I suppose like a chaw) to avoid losing it.

ProofArtworkonCircs

Ancient Greeks were buried with a coin in their mouth to pay the ferryman, Charon.

lordmarcovan

Simulation of what a coin this size might look like in an NGC "prong" style holder.

lordmarcovan

Well, I thought that last was funny, anyway.



Ha. I crack me up.

LochNESS

Great strike, lovely Swiss bust, and a great little history lesson. Enjoyed this post very much. My only question is ...



In what movie does it appear?

mvs7

Very cool.