11/4 Centavos Essai

The Dominican Republic's 1887 coinage essays were produced in Paris at the Monnaie de Paris as the young republic attempted to establish a coherent national currency after decades of political instability, including annexation by Spain from 1861 to 1865 and a prolonged war of restoration. This essai for the 1¼ centavos denomination — an unusual fractional value — was never adopted for circulation, leaving it as a pattern curiosity rather than a working coin.

The 1¼ centavos fraction itself suggests an attempted alignment with some existing pricing or wage structure, though the denomination found no traction with the government and was abandoned before striking commenced.