Catalog
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| Issuer | Casa de Moneda de Guatemala |
|---|---|
| Year | 1854 |
| Type | Coin pattern |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Latin |
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| Reverse description | Draped bust of Christopher Columbus facing left, rendered in high relief with period costume including a ruffled collar and epauletted mantle, occupying the central field. The circumferential legend CRIST · COLUMB · N · O · INV. · encircles the upper portion, while the mint mark NG and assayer initial A·E· appear at lower left, with the fineness indication 10 Ds. 20 Gs. completing the lower legend. A fine dentilated border frames the entire reverse design. |
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| Additional information |
Guatemala's 1854 pattern 8 reales was struck at a moment of genuine monetary uncertainty. The country had been independent for three decades but still lacked a consistent national coinage standard, relying heavily on colonial-era and foreign silver in daily commerce. This piece appears to have been produced to test a new design before full production — which ultimately never materialized for this type, making KM#Pn1 a dead-end in Guatemalan numismatic history rather than a precursor to anything.
Pattern survivorship from Central American mints of this period is exceptionally poor. The Casa de Moneda de Guatemala operated under chronic resource constraints throughout the mid-nineteenth century.