Catalog
1 Real
| Issuer | Valdivia, City of |
|---|---|
| Year | 1822 |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Obverse description | Central device depicts a stylized palm or tree rising from a stepped rectangular base or pedestal, rendered in a primitive incuse style characteristic of emergency coinage. Two six-petalled stars or rosettes flank the central motif in the left and right fields respectively. The coin exhibits an irregular flan with a boldly serrated or milled border formed by hand, reflecting the rudimentary production methods of the Valdivia provisional issue. The flat field shows considerable granularity and surface porosity consistent with a billon alloy struck under emergency conditions. |
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| Mintage | 1822 |
| Additional information |
Valdivia's 1822 issue belongs to the chaotic monetary gap that followed Chilean independence, when the new republic's central minting infrastructure was not yet functioning reliably and several regional authorities struck their own emergency coinage. The city's single known type — KM#1 — was a practical response to acute small-change shortages in the south, far removed from Santiago's administrative reach.
Billon was the logical choice: silver supplies were constrained and full-silver fractional pieces were simply not viable locally. Survivors in any condition are genuinely scarce, as the issue was small and the coins circulated hard in a frontier economy.