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1/2 Real
| Issuer | Ecuador |
|---|---|
| Year | 1838-1840 |
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| Value | Log in to see details |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | 1.85 g |
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| Obverse description | Central device features a fasces surmounted by a Phrygian cap, flanked by two cornucopiae, with a bow and arrows across the base. The design is rendered in relief within a beaded border. The circular legend reads REPUBLICA DEL ECUADOR QUITO, positioned along the periphery of the coin. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Central device depicts a sun rising over two mountain peaks, upon which a condor is perched at left and a vulture at right. The denomination indicator MEDIO appears at lower left and REAL at lower right within the field. The circular legend EL PODER EN LA CONSTITUCION arcs around the upper periphery, with the date and assayer's initials appearing in the lower portion of the legend. |
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| Additional information |
Ecuador had only declared independence from Gran Colombia in 1830, and its early coinage was struck under severe institutional constraints — no established mint infrastructure, limited silver supply, and a monetary system still disentangling itself from Spanish colonial conventions. The Quito mint, operating sporadically, produced these fractional pieces in debased billon-grade silver at .666 fineness rather than the colonial standard, a deliberate reduction reflecting the new republic's constrained treasury.
KM#22 is notably short-lived, replaced within a few years as Ecuador attempted to regularize its coinage laws.