Owner Comments:
Ecuador - 1946 -20 Centavos (KM #77.1b, EC# 192) - Mintage: 30,000,000
Copper-Nickel (75% copper, 25% nickel)
Ecuador began adopting a decimal coinage system in 1874 with the minting of one and two centavo coins at the Mint in Birmingham, England. The transition was completed on March 22, 1884 with the creation of the silver
sucre coin which was equivalent to 100 centavos. The sucre remained the official unit of currency in Ecuador for 116 years until the President of Ecuador announced on January 9, 2000 that the US dollar would be adopted as Ecuador's official currency.
1946 was the last year the Philadelphia mint produced coinage for Ecuador. Four denominations (5, 10, and 20 Centavos, and Un Sucre) were coined with a total combined mintage of 128,000,000 coins with a total face value of 29,500,000 Sucres.
Obverse
These coins were minted for the "Republica Del Ecuador" by the Philadelphia mint, however no mint marks were used on the minor coinage produced for Ecuador in Philadelphia. Ecuador dictated the various elements that of their coat of arms, but the actual rendering of these elements by the various mints which produced their coins can vary greatly from mint to mint. In this case the central elements of the ship, water and mountain look more like an ocean going freighter sailing away from a mountainous coastline rather than the river steamship
Guayas, sailing the Guayas river with the snow capped Chimborazo volcano in the distant background. There is also no Caduceus appearing as a mast on the ship, an aspect which seems to have eluded all but one mint. The following is a depiction of the 1841 steamship
Guayas for comparison:
Reverse
The reverse of this coin is very simple, containing only the denomination
20 CENTAVOS surrounded by a Laurel wreath.
This coin
This is a very common coin, but it also appears to have been popular with the people of Ecuador when it was released. Lightly circulated examples are very common, but high grade uncirculated coins are more elusive. NGC has graded 3 at this level with only one higher. This is actually a very difficult coin to obtain in high grades. I was very fortunate to acquire this coin from a fellow Collector's Society member.
Date acquired: 1/18/2019 (Already graded by NGC)
References:
Seppa, Dale and Anderson, Michael,
the COINS of ECUADOR (second edition), Almanzar's Coins of the World, San Antonio, 1973.
Rev. 1/22/2019