Catalog
2 Reales Countermark over Buenos Ayres 1855
| Issuer | Paraguay |
|---|---|
| Year | 1858 |
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| Reference(s) | Mayans#MR19 var |
| Obverse description | Circular countermark applied by Paraguayan authorities, featuring a seated lion figure below a Liberty cap on a staff, with the date 1858 divided across the punch. The legend PROVINCIA DE BUENOS AYRES encircles the central design of the host coin in the field. The countermark is deeply struck and serves as the validating authority mark for circulation within Paraguay. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Central field displays the date 1855 enclosed within a wreath of laurel branches tied at the base with a ribbon bow. The circular legend CASA DE MONEDA arcs across the upper portion of the coin, while DOS REALES appears along the lower periphery, identifying the denomination. The overall design is characteristic of the Buenos Aires provincial mint coinage of the mid-nineteenth century. |
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| Additional information |
Paraguay's monetary situation in the 1850s was chronically short of small change, and the government of Carlos Antonio López resorted to countermarking foreign and provincial coins already in circulation rather than striking new ones. Buenos Aires provincial coppers were among the pieces pressed into this service — overstruck with Paraguayan authority to legitimize their continued use at a fixed tariff value.
The Mayans MR19 variant designation suggests a die or countermark punch that deviates from the principal recorded type, though the exact nature of the variation is insufficiently documented in the secondary literature to characterize precisely.