Catalog
20 Centavos No number on obverse, silver .835
| Issuer | Casa de Moneda de Chile |
|---|---|
| Year | 1895 |
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| Orientation | Coin alignment ↑↓ |
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| Obverse description | A defiant Andean condor, wings partially spread, perches in left profile atop a rocky outcrop occupying the central field. The bird's plumage is rendered with fine detail characteristic of Roty's medallic artistry. The circular legend REPUBLICA DE CHILE arcs around the upper periphery, bordered by a beaded inner rim. The engraver's signature O. Roty appears in small incuse letters at the base of the rock in the lower field. |
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| Edge | Reeded |
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| Additional information |
Chile's monetary reform of 1895 decimalised the peso system and triggered a significant retooling at the Santiago mint. This particular variety — KM#151.1, distinguished by the absence of a numeral on the obverse — was struck only in 1895, replaced almost immediately by a revised type. The reform itself was partly driven by Chile's need to manage silver revenues from the nitrate-rich Atacama territories seized during the War of the Pacific, concluded just over a decade earlier.
The .835 fineness was chosen to align with broader Latin American monetary conventions of the period, not domestic metallurgical preference.