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4 Reales Countermark over Bolivian 4 Soles 1853-58 PTS
| Issuer | Paraguay |
|---|---|
| Year | 1868 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | 31.3 mm |
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|---|---|
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| Obverse lettering | LIBRE POR LA CONSTITUCION. 1868 BOLIVAR (Translation: Free by the Constitution) |
| Reverse description | Central device of the Bolivian national arms depicting a majestic palm tree flanked by two reclining llamas on a grassy mound, all beneath an arc of nine five-pointed stars arranged along the upper field. The peripheral legend reads 'REPUBLICA BOLIVIANA' with mint mark 'PTS' (Potosí), denomination '4S', date '1858', and assayer initials 'FJ' inscribed in the lower exergual area. The design is characteristic of the Bolivian republican coinage struck at the Potosí Mint during the mid-nineteenth century. |
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| Additional information |
Paraguay's postwar coinage situation was desperate. The War of the Triple Alliance (1864–1870) had gutted the country's monetary infrastructure, and the government resorted to countermarking foreign silver already circulating within its borders to assert official sanction over the supply. Bolivian 4 Soles pieces — themselves struck at Potosí in the 1850s at reduced fineness following Bolivia's own monetary reforms — were among the coins pressed into this service.
The host coins predate the countermark by a decade or more, meaning the silver in hand had already seen years of regional circulation before Paraguay claimed it.