Venezuela's First Republic lasted less than a year before Monteverde's royalist forces crushed it in July 1812 — the same year the Caracas earthquake killed thousands and was weaponized by the clergy as divine punishment for the independence movement. Copper fractional coinage from this period was struck under desperate conditions, with the young republic scrambling to establish functional monetary infrastructure even as its military situation collapsed.
Very few pieces survived the subsequent royalist suppression. Most circulating republican issues were actively withdrawn or destroyed.
Venezuela's First Republic lasted less than a year before Monteverde's royalist forces crushed it in July 1812 — the same year the Caracas earthquake killed thousands and was weaponized by the clergy as divine punishment for the independence movement. Copper fractional coinage from this period was struck under desperate conditions, with the young republic scrambling to establish functional monetary infrastructure even as its military situation collapsed.
Very few pieces survived the subsequent royalist suppression. Most circulating republican issues were actively withdrawn or destroyed.