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BOLIVIA: AR boliviano (24.41g), Potosi, 1893. EF

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money / Coins: Ancient Start Price:2,000.00 USD Estimated At:2,000.00 - 2,400.00 USD
BOLIVIA: AR boliviano (24.41g), Potosi, 1893. EF
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BOLIVIA: AR boliviano (24.41g), Potosí, 1893, KM-160.3, El-168, assayer CB, only collectible year of this rare type, somewhat deeply toned, EF, RRR. The final date of the full-size crown series struck at the Potosi mint, extremely rare and long considered as one of the key issues with 5-6 confirmed examples. After 1879, the mintage of Bolivianos would only be resumed in 1884 in low quantities, the main problem being that the 40 Hp steam press that had been brought by Clemente Torretti (the "CT" initials found on the well known 1868 pattern series) was ill-suited to issue large-diameter coinage. Contemporary accounts from the period indicate, in fact, that minor denominations were piled up in counters while 1 Boliviano coins were either exported to Argentina or kept as curiosity pieces in Bolivia since they were hardly ever seen! The Boliviano issues of 1884, 1887 and 1893, all very rare, essentially constitute trial strikes of better coin presses. The 1884 date (the more "common" among these three final dates) was struck in trial or presentation strikes after the law of September 6, 1883 - authorizing 200,000 pesos towards the acquisition of new minting equipment which could be operated "by electrical or hydraulic means"- was passed. In 1887, American engineer Arthur Wendt presented a project to obtain the concession for the mint's operation in exchange for providing it with a press "of up to 60 Hp if required," and a few crowns dated 1887 were thus struck. By 1893, the aforementioned 60hp press was acquired, and 1 Boliviano coins were issued in very limited quantities. A very rare and historical issue, much more elusive than the 1884 date, as noted above, and among the finest extant.