Quintos - The 1/5 Sols of Peru
1899 JF


Obverse
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Coin Details

  

Set Details
Coin Description:
Grade: NGC MEDAL MS 63
Owner: Forest City
 
Set Category: World Coins
Set Name: Quintos - The 1/5 Sols of Peru
Slot Name: 1899 JF
Research: Currently not available

Owner's Description

General Comments: If the "Red Book" adds to the federal Half Cent series a private Half Cent Token of 1837, by reason of no regular-strike Half Cents being minted in that year, certainly my Custom Set of 1/5 Sols can take on an 1871 1/5 Sol sized silver medal in a year when no regular dated coins were minted (well, that's my logic anyway!) This handsome piece was once part of the famed Eliasberg collection. Featuring a locomotive pictorial, it commemorates the opening of the railway (July 1871) between Iquique, on the Pacific coast, and the mining town of La Noria inland; towns about 36 miles apart. The reverse notes that Jose Balta was the President at the time. Brief History According to an article in the venerable "Economist," "The traffic [of the rail line] consists almost exclusively of nitrate of soda, deposits of which exist in inexhaustible quantities in the district traversed by the line. It is carried by the railway at half-a-dollar per quintal of 100 lbs, which is lower than the minimum authorized to be charged by the concession of the Peruvian Government. Due to the War of the Pacific (1879-1883), Iqueque is now part of northern Chile. La Noria is now famous for being a Ghost Town with "literal" ghosts. Chile and Peru have an interlocked numismatic history as well. Some Peruvian Sols were minted in Santiago, Chile. Auction Results: Ebay 2/7/2013 Attractively Toned AU/UNC+ $72 (WP) Set Specimen: Really a lovely piece, covered in an enchanting old cabinet patina. Eliasberg Pedigree. Moyax-439. NGC doesn't show Pop data for this medal at this time. Possibly the only graded example. Source: "The Economist. June 29, 1872. p.827"

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