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Ecuador - Struck by U.S. Mints

Category:  World Coins
Owner:  coin928
Last Modified:  11/14/2023
  
Set Description

Ecuadorian Coins Struck by Mints in the United States



Ecuadorian Flag American Flag


Ecuador seceded from the Confederation of Gran Colombia on May 13,1830, and on November 8, 1831, a mint in Quito was established by decree. The minting of true Ecuadorian coins did not begin however until 1833. The Quito mint produced silver coins denominated in reals and gold coins denominated in dablons and escudos for 29 years, ending production in 1862. Every coin produced bore the name of the city where it was minted (QUITO), and the initials of the assayer who was the mint officials responsible for the quality of the coinage. In most Latin American mints however, these initials represent two different officials, generally the chief assayer and his deputy.

In 1872, Ecuador began moving to a system of decimal coinage with the minting of one and two centavo coins with a declared conversion rate of 10 centavos to the Spanish real. The transition to a decimal coinage system was completed in 1884 with the introduction of the silver Sucre (equivalent to 100 centavos) and named after Antonio José de Sucre. Coincident with the conversion to a decimal coinage system, Ecuador began contracting all coining operations to foreign mints. Birmingham, England was the first foreign mint utilized from 1872 through 1886, but minting was extended to Santiago de Chile in 1888, to Lima Peru in 1889, and to Philadelphia in 1895. The traditions of including the name of the city where the coins were minted and the assayer's initials that was begun at the Quito mint were continued on all silver and gold coins minted by the foreign mints. This makes 1895 the first year that the Philadelphia mint was identified on a coin intended for general circulation!

This set is composed of all of the coins struck for Ecuador by mints in the United States from 1895 through 1946. There are 28 distinct date/denominations minted by the U.S. mint, 26 in Philadelphia and two in Denver. Two more coins were minted by the Gorham Manufacturing Company in Providence, Rhode Island in 1919. There are no known varieties for the coins minted by the U.S.mints, however this set does contain one very interesting 1917 error coin. The two coins produced by the Providence mint do contain many varieties, three of which are contained in this set.

Ecuador Coat of Arms
Ecuador coat of arms

Every coin in this set contains an interpretation of the Ecuador Coat of Arms shown above. This coat of arms has been in use since 1860, but it wasn't officially adopted by the National Congress until October 31, 1900 after a few minor modifications were made. The components and symbolism working outwards from the central elements are as follows:
  • The snow capped Chimborazo volcano, the highest in the Andes with a summit at 20,549.4 ft., is set against a blue sky. The river emanating from its base is the Guayas. Together, they symbolize the beauty, wealth and synergy of the varied regions of the country.
  • The steamship in the center of the river is also named the Guayas and was the first of its kind in South America. It was constructed by Vicente Rocafuerte in Guayaquil and began service on October 9, 1841.
  • The main mast of the Guayas as depicted in the coat of arms is actually a Caduceus, a symbol commonly used to represent trade and commerce.
  • The band across the sky contains the zodiacal signs for Aries, Taurus, Gemini, and Cancer corresponding to the months of March, April, May, and June which are historically significant to Ecuadorians.
    • March 6, 1845, the fall of General Juan José Flores' government.
    • April 21, 1822, the Battle of Tapi in the wars of independence with the Spanish.
    • May 24, 1822, the final victory of General Antonio José de Sucre at the Battle of Pichincha.
    • June 5, 1895, the entry of Liberalism and a new political context
  • Centered in the band is the ancient Inca symbol of a golden sun representing the sun god Inti.
  • All of the elements above are contained in an oval which is surrounded by four furled national flags, two on each side.
  • Between the two flags on the left are laurel branches representing the victories of the republic, and on the right are palm leaves symbolizing the martyrs of the fight for independence and liberty.
  • The colors of the three horizontal stripes of the flag are:
    • yellow (top, double width) recalls the Federation of Greater Colombia.
    • blue (center) symbolizes independence from Spain.
    • red (bottom) symbolizes courage.
  • An Andean Condor perched atop the oval serves as a crest and offers the country shelter and protection under its outstretched wings. It stands vigilant and ready to strike out against any enemy.
  • At the base of the oval is a lictoral fasces representing dignity.
The coins minted by the United States Mint from 1895 through 1934 were very consistent in their depiction of the coat of arms, although the depiction of the various elements such as the mountains, river and ship appeared more as a mountainous coastline being approached by an ocean going ship. The style of the ship was changed to appear more modern in the U.S. Mint coins from 1942 through 1946, while the other elements remained unchanged. None of the coins produced by the U.S. mints contained the Caduceus symbol.

The coat of arms was interpreted very differently by the engravers at the Providence Mint. The different colors of the flags are depicted using the engraving patterns appropriate for the heraldry colors they represent. The yellow (or gold) is represent by dots, the blue (azure) by horizontal lines, and the red by vertical lines. The orientation of the lines depicting blue and red may seem reversed, but are correct if viewed as in the picture above. The nature of the ship, river and mountains is much more true to the description of these elements and the use of the Caduceus symbol is very prominent.

Antonio José de Sucre

Another common element on many of these coins is the portrait of Antonio José de Sucre. His name was also used as the basic unit of Ecuadorian currency from 1884 to 2000, so a few words about him are appropriate for inclusion in this set description.
Antonio José de Sucre

Anyone familiar with Ecuadorian coins will instantly recognize the distinctive portrait of Antonio José de Sucre that graces all of the silver coins in this set as well as the 1946 nickel one sucre coin. Sucre was born in 1795 in Venezuela, and beginning at the age of 15, spent the next 20 years fighting for independence from Spanish rule. During this time he became a collaborator of Simón Bolívar, a Venezuelan general, and the first constitutional president of Bolivia. In1821, Sucre invaded the Ecuadorian highlands from the Pacific coast. His May 24, 1822 success at the battle of Pichincha, delivered Quito into patriot hands effectively liberating Ecuador from Spanish rule. Sucre then went on to Peru where he led the army to a decisive victory at Ayacucho on December 9, 1824. This was the last major engagement of the war. He later settled in Upper Peru (modern day Bolivia) and in 1826 was inaugurated as President of the new Republic of Bolivia. This did not go well and he ultimately resigned in August, 1828. War again broke out and he was called back to active service on the side of Gran Colombia against Peru. Sucre had intended to settle in Quito and on his way there, he was assassinated on June 4,1830. Sucre had said, "I want my bones to be forever in Quito." He got his wish, and he was buried in the Cathedral of Quito, Ecuador.

Sucre is considered the liberator of Ecuador, and appears on much of their coinage. The Ecuadorian peso was renamed sucre on March 22, 1884 and remained the official unit of currency until January 9, 2000 when Ecuadorian President Jamil Mahuad announced that the US dollar was to be adopted as Ecuador's official currency.

Philadelphia Mint Identifiers

The reverse of all of the silver coins in this set contain the name of the city where the coin was minted. Philadelphia makes for a very long mint identifier, so in later years, three shorter variations were used to identify the Philadelphia mint. All four are illustrated below. The inclusion of the assayers initials on the silver coins had an interesting side effect that is included in the individual coin descriptions for the one and two decimo coins in this set. The identifiers were different for each type of coin with the exception of the 50 centavos and two sucre coins which both used PHILA·U·S·A with no dot at the end.

  • Philadelphia PHILADELPHIA - Introduced in 1895 on the Dos Decimos de Sucre (20 Centavos)
  • Phila. PHILA. - Introduced in 1916 on the Decimo de Sucre (10 Centavos)
  • Phila.U.S.A. PHILA·U·S·A· - Introduced in 1928 on the Silver Un Sucre
  • Phila.U.S.A PHILA·U·S·A - Introduced in 1928 on the Cincuenta Centavos and Dos Sucre


The Coins in this Set

Each coin in this set is identified by the KM number as defined by Krause & Mishler and also by their EC number as defined by Seppa and Anderson in their book the COINS of ECUADOR. Each description also contains historical information on the issue and an explanation of the content of the obverse and reverse of the coin. Variety descriptions are provided where appropriate. 21 of the 35 coins in this set were acquired as raw coins and self submitted to NGC for grading. Several others were acquired already graded by NGC and were successfully resubmitted to NGC for an upgrade. Sometimes the better coin is already in your own collection!

I've been working on this collection since 2005, and was finally able to upgrade two of the most difficult coins from AU to MS. The 1928 Five and Ten centavos coins are readily available in circulated grades, but finding either in MS already graded or as a raw coin to submit has been on my bucket list since I began this collection. Amazingly, in 2023, after having self submitted three, each grading AU58, I managed to acquire the 1928 Ten centavos already graded by NGC in MS63. Also in 2023, I was successful in receiving a grade of MS62 for a self submitted five centavos after two failed prior attempts (AU58 and AU55). 2023 has been a very good year so far. All I need now is a mint state 1930 Dos Sucre to complete the basic set of all mint state circulation issue coins.


UPDATE: 1/11/2020
I would like to thank NGC for recognizing this set with the "Best World Custom Set" award for 2019. The following are the judges comments concerning this set.

Starting in 1874 the United States began accepting coin orders for other nations, and Ecuador availed itself of this service from 1895-1946. This set features the 28 coins struck at either the Philadelphia or Denver Mints, as well as the two issues struck by the Gorham Manufacturing Company in Providence, RI. The coins are all very attractive pieces, and each entry is well illustrated and described in great detail. Combined with a superb introductory essay, the complete package is an encyclopedia of the series.

References:
Seppa, Dale and Anderson, Michael, the COINS of ECUADOR (second edition), Almanzar's Coins of the World, San Antonio, 1973
History of the Flag of Ecuadaor
Coat of Arms Image by Wikimedia.org
Wikipedia Biography of Antonio José de Sucre

Set Goals
All regular issue Ecuadorian coins struck in the U.S.A. graded MS60 or higher. As of this revision, only one coin remain at AU58. The quest continues for that upgrade. The set also contains any error or die variety coins struck by mints in the U.S.A. Their grades are just the best I can find.

Rev. 9/19/2023

Slot Name
Origin/Country
Item Description
Full Grade
Owner Comments
Pics
View Coin 1895 TF 2D PHILADELPHIA ECUADOR 2D 1895 TF PHILADELPHIA KM-51.4 NGC MS 64 Ecuador - 1895 T.F. Philadelphia - Dos Decimos (KM #51.4, EC #181) - Mintage: 5,000,000

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.

This was the first coin struck by the Philadelphia mint for Ecuador, and it is the only U.S. minted Ecuadorian coin I am aware of where a proof version was also minted. I have been unable to find any record of how many proofs were minted though.

Obverse
The distinctive portrait on the obverse of this coin is that of Antonio José de Sucre. Sucre was born in 1795 in Venezuela, and from the age of 15, spent the next 20 years fighting for independence from Spanish rule. During this time he became a collaborator of Simón Bolívar, a Venezuelan general, and the first constitutional president of Bolivia, all before the age of 35. Sucre led the patriots to a decisive victory at the battle of Pichincha on May 24, 1822, effectively freeing Ecuador from Spanish rule. His life was cut short on June 4, 1830 when he was assassinated while on his way to Quito. Sucre was laid to rest in his own Mausoleum Chapel in the Cathedral of Quito. He is considered the liberator of Ecuador, and appears on many Ecuadorian coins.

Reverse
The reverse of this coin has a number of interesting features:
  • Following the tradition set by the Quito mint, the name of the city where this coin was minted appears at the bottom under the coat of arms. In this case, PHILADELPHIA giving this coin the distinction of being the first circulating coin minted by the Philadelphia mint to bear a mark specifically indicating Philadelphia as the mint of origin.
  • The denomination is DOS DECIMOS DE SUCRE. (20 centavos)
  • The weight and fineness of the silver content is explicitly stated as 5G. and 0.900 (fine) with the balance in copper.
  • Continuing the tradition of the Quito mint, every coin produced bore the initials of the assayer who was responsible for the quality of the coinage. In most Latin American mints however, these initials represent two different officials, generally the chief assayer and his deputy. It would appear that the U.S. mint was unaware of this tradition and the significance of the letters T.F. which appear to the lower right of the coat of arms on the sample coin they were give from the mint in Lima, Peru. These Lima mint assayers initials T.F. were simply copied onto the reverse die created by the Philadelphia mint and appear on all of the Dos Decimos coins minted by Philadelphia.
  • Ecuador dictated the various elements of their coat of arms, but the actual rendering of these elements 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 vessel 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:
Guayas


This coin
This coin is a reasonably well struck, uncirculated example of this issue. The obverse and reverse dies appear to have been relatively fresh. This is one of the first coins to be identified as having been struck by the Philadelphia mint.

Date acquired: 2/2/2020 (Raw coin)
Date graded: 8/4/2020 (self submitted to NGC)

References:
Seppa, Dale and Anderson, Michael, the COINS of ECUADOR (second edition), Almanzar's Coins of the World, San Antonio, 1973.

Rev. 8/6/2020
View Coin 1914 TF 2D PHILADELPHIA ECUADOR 2D 1914 TF PHILADELPHIA KM-51.4 NGC MS 65 Ecuador - 1914 T.F. Philadelphia - Dos Decimos (KM #51.4, EC #186) - Mintage: 2,500,000

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.

Obverse
The distinctive portrait on the obverse of this coin is that of Antonio José de Sucre. Sucre was born in 1795 in Venezuela, and from the age of 15, spent the next 20 years fighting for independence from Spanish rule. During this time he became a collaborator of Simón Bolívar, a Venezuelan general, and the first constitutional president of Bolivia, all before the age of 35. Sucre led the patriots to a decisive victory at the battle of Pichincha on May 24, 1822, effectively freeing Ecuador from Spanish rule. His life was cut short on June 4, 1830 when he was assassinated while on his way to Quito. Sucre was laid to rest in his own Mausoleum Chapel in the Cathedral of Quito. He is considered the liberator of Ecuador, and appears on many Ecuadorian coins.

Reverse
The reverse of this coin has a number of interesting features:
  • Following the tradition set by the Quito mint, the name of the city where this coin was minted appears at the bottom under the coat of arms. In this case, PHILADELPHIA.
  • The denomination is DOS DECIMOS DE SUCRE. (20 centavos)
  • The weight and fineness of the silver content is explicitly stated as 5G. and 0.900 (fine) with the balance in copper.
  • Continuing the tradition of the Quito mint, every coin produced bore the initials of the assayer who was responsible for the quality of the coinage. In most Latin American mints however, these initials represent two different officials, generally the chief assayer and his deputy. It would appear that the U.S. mint was unaware of this tradition and the significance of the letters T.F. which appear to the lower right of the coat of arms on the sample coin they were give from the mint in Lima, Peru. These Lima mint assayers initials T.F. were simply copied onto the reverse die created by the Philadelphia mint and appear on all of the Dos Decimos coins minted by 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 vessel 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, and aspect which seems to have eluded all but one mint. The following is a depiction of the 1841 steamship Guayas for comparison:
Guayas


This coin
This coin is very well struck and lustrous. The obverse and reverse dies appear to be roughly the same die state with minimal bleeding of the peripheral lettering into the denticles

Date acquired:10/24/2006 (raw coin)
Date graded: 3/3/2016 (self submitted to NGC)

References:
Seppa, Dale and Anderson, Michael, the COINS of ECUADOR (second edition), Almanzar's Coins of the World, San Antonio, 1973.

Rev. 11/23/2018
View Coin 1916 DECIMO PHILA ECUADOR DECIMO 1916 PHILA KM-50.5 NGC MS 63 Ecuador - 1916 PHILA. - Un Decimo - (KM #50.5, EC #157) - Mintage 2,000,000

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.

Obverse
The distinctive portrait on the obverse of this coin is that of Antonio José de Sucre. Sucre was born in 1795 in Venezuela, and from the age of 15, spent the next 20 years fighting for independence from Spanish rule. During this time he became a collaborator of Simón Bolívar, a Venezuelan general, and the first constitutional president of Bolivia, all before the age of 35. Sucre led the patriots to a decisive victory at the battle of Pichincha on May 24, 1822, effectively freeing Ecuador from Spanish rule. His life was cut short on June 4, 1830 when he was assassinated while on his way to Quito. Sucre was laid to rest in his own Mausoleum Chapel in the Cathedral of Quito. He is considered the liberator of Ecuador, and appears on many Ecuadorian coins.

Reverse
The reverse of this coin has a number of interesting features:
  • Following the tradition set by the Quito mint, the name of the city where this coin was minted appears at the bottom under the coat of arms. In this case, PHILA..
  • The denomination is UN DECIMO DE SUCRE. (10 centavos)
  • The weight and fineness of the silver content is explicitly stated as 2.5G. and 0.9 (fine) with the balance in copper.
  • In the tradition of the Quito mint, every coin produced bore the initials of the assayer who was responsible for the quality of the coinage. The Birmingham, England mint however placed the letter H. for Heaton in this location when they struck this denomination in 1915. It would appear that the U.S. mint was unaware of the meaning and significance of the letter H. which appears to the lower right of the coat of arms on the sample coin they were given. The letter H. was simply copied onto the reverse die created by the Philadelphia mint, giving this coin the distinction of having mint marks from two different mints.
  • 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 vessel 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, and aspect which seems to have eluded all but one mint. The following is a depiction of the 1841 steamship Guayas for comparison:
Guayas


This coin
This coin is reasonably well struck and appears to have been struck from relatively fresh dies.

Date acquired: 10/2/2014 (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. 11/23/2018
View Coin 1916 TF 2D PHILADELPHIA ECUADOR 2D 1916 TF PHILADELPHIA KM-51.4 NGC MS 65 Ecuador - 1916 T.F. Philadelphia - Dos Decimos (KM #51.4, EC #189) - Mintage: 1,000,000

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.

Obverse
The distinctive portrait on the obverse of this coin is that of Antonio José de Sucre. Sucre was born in 1795 in Venezuela, and from the age of 15, spent the next 20 years fighting for independence from Spanish rule. During this time he became a collaborator of Simón Bolívar, a Venezuelan general, and the first constitutional president of Bolivia, all before the age of 35. Sucre led the patriots to a decisive victory at the battle of Pichincha on May 24, 1822, effectively freeing Ecuador from Spanish rule. His life was cut short on June 4, 1830 when he was assassinated while on his way to Quito. Sucre was laid to rest in his own Mausoleum Chapel in the Cathedral of Quito. He is considered the liberator of Ecuador, and appears on many Ecuadorian coins.

Reverse
The reverse of this coin has a number of interesting features:
  • Following the tradition set by the Quito mint, the name of the city where this coin was minted appears at the bottom under the coat of arms. In this case, PHILADELPHIA.
  • The denomination is DOS DECIMOS DE SUCRE. (20 centavos)
  • The weight and fineness of the silver content is explicitly stated as 5G. and 0.900 (fine) with the balance in copper.
  • Continuing the tradition of the Quito mint, every coin produced bore the initials of the assayer who was responsible for the quality of the coinage. In most Latin American mints however, these initials represent two different officials, generally the chief assayer and his deputy. It would appear that the U.S. mint was unaware of this tradition and the significance of the letters T.F. which appear to the lower right of the coat of arms on the sample coin they were give from the mint in Lima, Peru. These Lima mint assayers initials T.F. were simply copied onto the reverse die created by the Philadelphia mint and appear on all of the Dos Decimos coins minted by 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 vessel 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, and aspect which seems to have eluded all but one mint. The following is a depiction of the 1841 steamship Guayas for comparison:
Guayas


This coin
This coin is very well struck and lustrous. The obverse and reverse dies appear to have been very fresh when this coin was struck.

Date acquired:5/9/2016 (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. 9/20/2017
View Coin 1917(P) 2.5C ECUADOR 2.5C 1917 KM-61 NGC MS 62 Ecuador - 1917 - 2 1/2 Centavos - (KM #61, EC #116) - Mintage: 1,600,000

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.

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 vessel 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:
Guayas


Reverse
The reverse of this coin is very simple, containing only the denomination DOS Y MEDIO CENTAVOS (2 1/2 Centavos) surrounded by a Laurel wreath.

This coin
Of all of the coins minted for Ecuador by the U.S. Mint, this particular issue is the most difficult to acquire in mint state. This is a nice coin that feels like it should have attained a higher grade.

Date acquired: 3/10/2020 (raw coin)
Date graded: 8/4/2020 (self submitted to NGC for grading)

References:
Seppa, Dale and Anderson, Michael, the COINS of ECUADOR (second edition), Almanzar's Coins of the World, San Antonio, 1973.

Rev. 8/5/2020
View Coin 1917(P) 5C/2.5C Ecuador 5C 1917 ECUADOR STRUCK ON 2 1/2 CENTAVO PLANCHET (2.5g) KM-60.2/KM-61 NGC MINT ERROR XF Details Ecuador - 1917 - 5 Centavos (struck on a 2 1/2 Centavos planchet) - (KM-60.2/KM-61) - Mintage: Probably Unique!

This amazing find was purchased as a raw coin in an eBay auction as a normal 5 Centavos. Sadly it has seen rough circulation, surface debris, and abrasive cleaning. In spite of all that, it is most likely unique, and well worth the cost of certification.

The size of the two coins are very close, so it's easy to see how this coin might have gone unnoticed.

Date acquired: 7/17/2015 (raw coin)
Date graded: 10/28/2015 (self submitted to NGC)

Rev. 9/21/2017
View Coin 1917(P) 5C ECUADOR 5C 1917 KM-60.2 NGC MS 62 Ecuador - 1917 - 5 Centavos - (KM #60.2, EC #130) - Mintage: 1,200,000

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.

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 vessel 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:
Guayas


Reverse
The reverse of this coin is very simple, containing only the denomination CINCO CENTAVOS (5 Centavos) surrounded by a Laurel wreath.

This coin
Of all of the coins minted for Ecuador by the U.S. Mint, this particular issue is one of the most difficult to acquire in mint state. The only one more difficult to obtain is the 1917 2 1/2 Centavos. This coin looks to be very well struck from relatively fresh dies, although the planchet alloy is streaky. I feel quite fortunate that this coin survived through the years without having been cleaned. The NGC grade of MS62 is appropriate.

Date acquired: 10/6/2007 (raw coin)
Date graded: 10/28/2015 (self submitted to NGC)

References:
Seppa, Dale and Anderson, Michael, the COINS of ECUADOR (second edition), Almanzar's Coins of the World, San Antonio, 1973.

Rev. 9/21/2017
View Coin 1918(P) 5C ECUADOR 5C 1918 KM-60.2 NGC MS 65 Ecuador - 1918 - 5 Centavos - (KM #60.2, EC #131) - Mintage: 7,980,000

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.

These coins were minted for the "Repuplica Del Ecuador" by the Philadelphia mint and were only minted in 1917 and 1918. The 1918 issue outnumbers the 1917 issue by nearly a factor of 7. Despite the significantly higher mintage, these coins circulated heavily and are nearly as difficult to acquire in mint state as the 1917.

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 vessel 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:
Guayas


Reverse
The reverse of this coin is very simple, containing only the denomination CINCO CENTAVOS (5 Centavos) surrounded by a Laurel wreath.

This coin
This is a spectacular looking coin in hand and has nearly prooflike surfaces. All of the lettering and devices are sharp and exceptionally well defined. The high point detail is exceptional. Note specifically the head and texturing of the neck of the condor on the obverse. The sun, side of the ship and the ocean waves are also fully struck and highly detailed. Based on the surface luster and crisp details, this coin was obviously struck from a fresh pair of dies. There are very few marks on the devices or fields. The only distracting element is the streaky planchet, but this is a very common characteristic of copper nickel coins struck by the U.S. mints from 1917-1919. The grade is well deserved.

Date acquired: 5/3/2016 (raw coin)
Date graded: 9/28/2016 (self submitted to NGC)
Date regraded: 9/4/2018 (resubmitted to NGC)

References:
Seppa, Dale and Anderson, Michael, the COINS of ECUADOR (second edition), Almanzar's Coins of the World, San Antonio, 1973.

Rev. 9/5/2018
View Coin 1918(P) 10C ECUADOR 10C 1918 KM-62 NGC MS 61 Ecuador - 1918 - 10 Centavos - (KM #62, EC #159 - Mintage: 1,000,000

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.

These coins were minted for the "Repuplica Del Ecuador" by the Philadelphia mint. This coin is a one year type with a relatively low mintage. Despite the mintage, these coins are not nearly as difficult to obtain in mint state as the others minted in 1917 and 1918.

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 vessel 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:
Guayas


Reverse
The reverse of this coin is very simple, containing only the denomination DIEZ CENTAVOS (10 Centavos) surrounded by a Laurel wreath.

This coin
These coins circulated well, so uncirculated examples of this issue are very difficult to obtain. I was pleased to find this one and very happy that it had not been cleaned and received a grade of MS61.

Date acquired: 10/6/2007 (raw coin)
Date graded: 10/28/2015 (self submitted to NGC)

References:
Seppa, Dale and Anderson, Michael, the COINS of ECUADOR (second edition), Almanzar's Coins of the World, San Antonio, 1973.

Rev. 9/21/2017
View Coin 1919 5C 3 BERRIES SP (Providence) ECUADOR 5C 1919 3 BERRIES KM-63 NGC SP 65 CAMEO Ecuador - 1919 (Providence Mint) - 5 Centavos - (KM #63, EC #132) - Production Mintage: 12,000,000
Exact specimen mintage: unknown

History
These coins were minted for the "Republica Del Ecuador" by the Providence Mint, a division of Gorham Manufacturing Company in Providence Rhode Island. Known primarily for producing high-quality sterling silverware and holloware, they also produced silver and base metal coins for several foreign countries including Ecuador, Serbia, and Cuba. The most notable of these are the several varieties of 1897 Cuban "Souvenir Pesos", and the 1898 Cuban Peso. It is interesting to note that the engravers at the Providence mint did the best job depicting the steamship Guayas, the Guayas River and the snow capped Chimborazo volcano at the center of the coat of arms. They are probably the only engravers to correctly depict a Caduceus as the main mast of the ship.

Varieties
I became interested in this "one year type" in 2004, and I have acquired quite a few of these coins over the years since. Krause & Mishler identifiy three main varieties, but I have come to realize that there are many more significant die varieties than that. The ones that everyone knows are all linked to the configuration of berries directly to the left of the C in CENTAVOS on the reverse. They are as follows:
  • 3 berries to left of C on reverse. Most common variety.
  • 4 berries tightly grouped to left of C on reverse. (aka 4 Berries tight) Sub-varieties exist.
  • 4 berries loosely grouped to left of C on reverse. (aka 4 Berries loose) This variety is extremely rare.
In addition to these, I have noticed that there are at least three sub-varieties of the grouping of the 4 berries tight variety. They exist in square and diamond configurations and there are two types of diamond patterns. The diamond pattern being much more common than the square pattern. Varieties also exist in the style and positioning of the letters in the word CENTAVOS.

All of the focus has been on the varieties exhibited on the reverse, but there are very noticeable varieties on the obverse as well. The four main characteristics of the obverse that are easily identifiable are:
  • The overall style of the design (Refined or Crude)
  • The number and style of tail feathers on the condor perched atop the coat of arms.
  • The size and position of the sun just below the condor.
  • The presence or absence of the backstay on the mizzenmast of the ship.
Combine all of the obverse and reverse varieties, and one could define a collection similar to all of the varieties known for the 1878 8TF Morgan Dollar!

Based on the large number of die varieties and style of the design, I have come to the conclusion that there was probably no master hub used and that each die was very likely hand cut.

Until this coin, NGC had certified 4 of the 3 Berry variety coins as "Specimen", but I had only seen photos of two of them which had appeared in Heritage auctions over the years. I acquired this coin because it appeared very well struck and also appeared to have cameo devices, but I never imagined it would garner an SP grade. Needless to say, I was quite pleased with the grade, but I still do not know exactly what distinguishes these specimen coins from the normal production strike coins since not all of the specimen pieces were struck from the same obverse die. I most certainly intend to ask NGC though the next time I go to the ANA convention..

This coin
This particular coin is exceptionally well struck with very pleasing cameo devices. As of this revision, NGC has graded only 4 others as Specimen, 3 at SP63, and 1 at SP67. This is the one and only example to receive a cameo designation at SP65CA. PCGS has graded only one, but with a Proof designation as PR66. Having studied two of the other NGC specimen coins, I find it interesting that they do not all have the same obverse characteristics, which means that these specimen pieces were not all struck from the same die. So exactly what does it mean to be a specimen coin? For additional high resolution images, check out the verification page: NGC 2882769-002

Obverse characteristics are:
Overall design: ............Refined
Condor Tail Feathers: 3, even
Sun Size: ......................Small, slightly above center
Mizzenmast Backstay: No

Date acquired: 9/20/2020 (raw coin)
Date graded: 8/19/2023 (self submitted to NGC)

References:
Seppa, Dale and Anderson, Michael, the COINS of ECUADOR (second edition), Almanzar's Coins of the World, San Antonio, 1973.

Rev. 4/18/2024
View Coin 1919 5C 3 BERRIES (Providence) ECUADOR 5C 1919 3 BERRIES KM-63 NGC MS 66 Ecuador - 1919 (Providence Mint) - 5 Centavos - (KM #63, EC #132) - Mintage: 12,000,000

History
These coins were minted for the "Republica Del Ecuador" by the Providence Mint, a division of Gorham Manufacturing Company in Providence Rhode Island. Known primarily for producing high-quality sterling silverware and holloware, they also produced silver and base metal coins for several foreign countries including Ecuador, Serbia, and Cuba. The most notable of these are the several varieties of 1897 Cuban "Souvenir Pesos", and the 1898 Cuban Peso. It is interesting to note that the engravers at the Providence mint did the best job depicting the steamship Guayas, the Guayas River and the snow capped Chimborazo volcano at the center of the coat of arms. They are probably the only engravers to correctly depict a Caduceus as the main mast of the ship.

Varieties
I became interested in this "one year type" in 2004, and I have acquired quite a few of these coins over the years since. Krause & Mishler identifiy three main varieties, but I have come to realize that there are many more significant die varieties than that. The ones that everyone knows are all linked to the configuration of berries directly to the left of the C in CENTAVOS on the reverse. They are as follows:
  • 3 berries to left of C on reverse. Most common variety.
  • 4 berries tightly grouped to left of C on reverse. (aka 4 Berries tight) Sub-varieties exist.
  • 4 berries loosely grouped to left of C on reverse. (aka 4 Berries loose) This variety is extremely rare.
In addition to these, I have noticed that there are at least three sub-varieties of the grouping of the 4 berries tight variety. They exist in square and diamond configurations and there are two types of diamond patterns. The diamond pattern being much more common than the square pattern. Varieties also exist in the style and positioning of the letters in the word CENTAVOS.

All of the focus has been on the varieties exhibited on the reverse, but there are very noticeable varieties on the obverse as well. The four main characteristics of the obverse that are easily identifiable are:
  • The overall style of the design (Refined or Crude)
  • The number and style of tail feathers on the condor perched atop the coat of arms.
  • The size and position of the sun just below the condor.
  • The presence or absence of the backstay on the mizzenmast of the ship.
Combine all of the obverse and reverse varieties, and one could define a collection similar to all of the varieties known for the 1878 8TF Morgan Dollar!

Based on the large number of die varieties and style of the design, I have come to the conclusion that there was probably no master hub used and that each die was very likely hand cut.

NGC has certified 4 of the 3 Berry variety coins as "Specimen", but I have never seen one of these, so I do not know what distinguishes these specimen coins from the normal production strike coins.

This coin
This particular coin is an exceptionally high quality example of the most common 3 Berry variety. As of this revision, there is only one other graded MS66 by NGC with none higher. PCGS has none graded higher than MS64.

Obverse characteristics are:
Overall design: ............Refined
Condor Tail Feathers: 3, even
Sun Size: ......................Small, slightly above center
Mizzenmast Backstay: No

Date acquired: 5/24/2016 (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. 11/19/2018
View Coin 1919 5C 4 BERRIES (Tight, Square)(Providence) ECUADOR 5C 1919 4 BERRIES KM-63 TIGHT BERRY CLUSTER (square) NGC MS 64 Ecuador - 1919 (Providence Mint) - 5 Centavos (4 Berries tight) - (KM #63, EC #134)
Total Mintage: 12,000,000 (all varieties)

History
These coins were minted for the "Republica Del Ecuador" by the Providence Mint, a division of Gorham Manufacturing Company in Providence Rhode Island. Known primarily for producing high-quality sterling silverware and holloware, they also produced silver and base metal coins for several foreign countries including Ecuador, Serbia, and Cuba. The most notable of these are the several varieties of 1897 Cuban "Souvenir Pesos", and the 1898 Cuban Peso. It is interesting to note that the engravers at the Providence mint did the best job depicting the steamship Guayas, the Guayas River and the snow capped Chimborazo volcano at the center of the coat of arms. They are probably the only engravers to correctly depict a Caduceus as the main mast of the ship.

Varieties
I became interested in this "one year type" in 2004, and I have acquired quite a few of these coins over the years since. Krause & Mishler identifiy three main varieties, but I have come to realize that there are many more significant die varieties than that. The ones that everyone knows are all linked to the configuration of berries directly to the left of the C in CENTAVOS on the reverse. They are as follows:
  • 3 berries to left of C on reverse. Most common variety.
  • 4 berries tightly grouped to left of C on reverse. (aka 4 Berries tight) Sub-varieties exist.
  • 4 berries loosely grouped to left of C on reverse. (aka 4 Berries loose) This variety is extremely rare.
In addition to these, I have noticed that there are at least three sub-varieties of the grouping of the 4 berries tight variety. They exist in square and diamond configurations and there are two types of diamond patterns. The diamond pattern being much more common than the square pattern. Varieties also exist in the style and positioning of the letters in the word CENTAVOS.

All of the focus has been on the varieties exhibited on the reverse, but there are very noticeable varieties on the obverse as well. The four main characteristics of the obverse that are easily identifiable are:
  • The overall style of the design (Refined or Crude)
  • The number and style of tail feathers on the condor perched atop the coat of arms.
  • The size and position of the sun just below the condor.
  • The presence or absence of the backstay on the mizzenmast of the ship.
Combine all of the obverse and reverse varieties, and one could define a collection similar to all of the varieties known for the 1878 8TF Morgan Dollar!

Based on the large number of die varieties and style of the design, I have come to the conclusion that there was probably no master hub used and that each die was very likely hand cut.

This coin
This particular coin is an example of the 4 Berries tight variety with a square shaped grouping of the 4 berries. This is the rarer of the two sub-varieties I am aware of.

Obverse characteristics are:
Overall design: ............Refined
Condor Tail Feathers: 4, even ends
Sun Size: ......................Large, centered
Mizzenmast Backstay: No

Date acquired: 11/29/2013 (already graded by NGC)
Date regraded: 9/4/2018 (MS63 ==> MS64)

References:
Seppa, Dale and Anderson, Michael, the COINS of ECUADOR (second edition), Almanzar's Coins of the World, San Antonio, 1973.

Rev. 9/25/2023
View Coin 1919 5C 4 BERRIES (Loose)(Providence) ECUADOR 5C 1919 4 BERRIES KM-63 LOOSE BERRY CLUSTER NGC AU 50 Ecuador - 1919 (Providence Mint) - 5 Centavos (4 Berries, loose) - (KM #63, EC #133)
Total Mintage: 12,000,000 (all varieties)

History
These coins were minted for the "Republica Del Ecuador" by the Providence Mint, a division of Gorham Manufacturing Company in Providence Rhode Island. Known primarily for producing high-quality sterling silverware and holloware, they also produced silver and base metal coins for several foreign countries including Ecuador, Serbia, and Cuba. The most notable of these are the several varieties of 1897 Cuban "Souvenir Pesos", and the 1898 Cuban Peso. It is interesting to note that the engravers at the Providence mint did the best job depicting the steamship Guayas, the Guayas River and the snow capped Chimborazo volcano at the center of the coat of arms. They are probably the only engravers to correctly depict a Caduceus as the main mast of the ship.

Varieties
I became interested in this "one year type" in 2004, and I have acquired quite a few of these coins over the years since. Krause & Mishler identifiy three main varieties, but I have come to realize that there are many more significant die varieties than that. The ones that everyone knows are all linked to the configuration of berries directly to the left of the C in CENTAVOS on the reverse. They are as follows:
  • 3 berries to left of C on reverse. Most common variety.
  • 4 berries tightly grouped to left of C on reverse. (aka 4 Berries tight) Sub-varieties exist.
  • 4 berries loosely grouped to left of C on reverse. (aka 4 Berries loose) This variety is extremely rare.
In addition to these, I have noticed that there are at least three sub-varieties of the grouping of the 4 berries tight variety. They exist in square and diamond configurations and there are two types of diamond patterns. The diamond pattern being much more common than the square pattern. Varieties also exist in the style and positioning of the letters in the word CENTAVOS.

All of the focus has been on the varieties exhibited on the reverse, but there are very noticeable varieties on the obverse as well. The four main characteristics of the obverse that are easily identifiable are:
  • The overall style of the design (Refined or Crude)
  • The number and style of tail feathers on the condor perched atop the coat of arms.
  • The size and position of the sun just below the condor.
  • The presence or absence of the backstay on the mizzenmast of the ship.
Combine all of the obverse and reverse varieties, and one could define a collection similar to all of the varieties known for the 1878 8TF Morgan Dollar!

Based on the large number of die varieties and style of the design, I have come to the conclusion that there was probably no master hub used and that each die was very likely hand cut.

This coin
This particular coin is the only example I have ever seen of the extremely rare 4 Berries loose variety. Unfortunately, this coin has seen circulation and had some surface dirt issues. It originally received a grade of VF-Details from NGC, but after conservation by NCS it received a grade of AU50. It also took several years, but I was finally able to convince NGC to identify the "loose" 4 berry sub-type on the label, although it is not yet cataloged as a distinct variety.

Obverse characteristics are:
Overall design: ............Refined
Condor Tail Feathers: 3, even ends
Sun Size: ......................Large, high
Mizzenmast Backstay: No

Date acquired: 2/17/2007 (raw coin)
Date graded: 10/28/2015 (self submitted to NGC)
Date regraded: 9/25/2018 (resubmitted to MS at NGC for upgrade and proper designation as 4 Berry Loose variety)

References:
Seppa, Dale and Anderson, Michael, the COINS of ECUADOR (second edition), Almanzar's Coins of the World, San Antonio, 1973.

Rev. 11/19/2018
View Coin 1919 10C (Providence) ECUADOR 10C 1919 KM-64 NGC MS 66 Ecuador - 1919 (Providence Mint) - 10 Centavos - (KM #64, EC #160) - Mintage: 2,000,000

History
These coins were minted for the "Repuplica Del Ecuador" by the Providence Mint, a division of Gorham Manufacturing Company in Providence Rhode Island. Known primarily for producing high-quality sterling silverware and holloware, they also produced silver and base metal coins for several foreign countries including Ecuador, Serbia, and Cuba. The most notable of these are the several varieties of 1897 Cuban "Souvenir Pesos", and the 1898 Cuban Peso. It is interesting to note that the engravers at the Providence mint did a much better job than all of the rest depicting the elements of the Ecuadorian coat of arms:
--- The steamship Guayas is properly depicted, including the use of a Caduceus for the mast which all others ignored.
--- The Guayas River actually looks as though it is a river, not an ocean.
--- The Chimborazo volcano appears to be snow capped.
--- The draped flags on each side utilize tincture patterns for the actual flag colors. From the outside progressing inward:
------ Dotted pattern represents gold or yellow (Or)
------ Vertical bar pattern represents red (Gules)
------ Horizontal bar pattern represents blue (Azure)

Varieties
I became interested in this "one year type" in 2004, and I have acquired quite a few of these coins over the years since. Unlike the companion 5 Centavos, Krause & Mishler identify no varieties, but proof/specimen examples may exist.Unlike their 5 Centavo counterparts, no "4 berry" examples have been identified. However, this denomination does display very similar obverse varieties. The four main characteristics of the obverse that are easily identifiable are:
  • The overall style of the design (Refined or Crude)
  • The number and style of tail feathers on the condor perched atop the coat of arms.
  • The size and position of the sun just below the condor.
  • The presence or absence of the backstay on the mizzenmast of the ship.
On the 5 Centavos coins, a backstay is either absent or present, On the 10 Centavos however, there can also be variations on both connection points of the backstay. The top of the backstay may be connected at or above the junction of the mizzenmast and the yardarm, and the bottom of the backstay may be connected at the aft end of the ship at the point where it angles upwards or past that point. I don't have enough of these coins to do a full study, but the number of varieties should be significantly less than of the 5 Centavos coins since the mintage is much smaller.

Based on the style of the design and the number of obverse varieties, there was probably no master hub used and each die was very likely hand cut.

This Coin
This particular coin is a very beautiful and excellently preserved example of this one year type. It is one of only three graded MS66 by NGC with none finer.

The vast majority of high grade, uncirculated examples look exactly like this one, complete with obverse and reverse die cracks, and that's no coincidence. An entire roll of uncirculated 1919 10 Centavos coins was discovered in Providence Rhode Island in the Fall of 2007 and they were put up for sale on eBay. The coins were sold off individually until the supply was depleted. I managed to acquire 3 at the time and eventually had them graded. Two graded MS65 and one one at MS64. Alas, this MS66 specimen went to someone else and I acquired it after it had been graded.

Date acquired: 10/5/2023 (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.
Herrmann, Gary (CoinsByGary), Tincture in Heraldry, NGC Journal Entry, February 24, 2019.
Wikipedia, Tincture (heraldry), viewed: October 13, 2023.

Rev. 10/13/2023
View Coin 1928(P) 1C ECUADOR 1C 1928 KM-67 NGC MS 65 RD Ecuador - 1 Centavo - (KM #67, EC #113) - Mintage 2,016,000
Although these coins are all dated 1928, they were actually minted in April and May of 1929.
April...1,050,000
May........966,000

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.

Ecuadorian President Isidro Ayora introduced a new monetary system in 1927 based on a reduced size, weight, and fineness sucre. In 1928, the country had the U.S. mint produce seven different denominations ranging from one centavo to two sucres. A gold Condor, (equivalent to 25 sucres) was also minted by the Birmingham mint making a total of eight different denominations minted for that year. The new sucre was nicknamed the Ayora after the President. Likewise, the new silver 50 centavos coin became known as the Lauritas after his wife Laura. The Sucre was worth 20 U.S. cents at the time.

The Ecuadorian government had contracted with the U.S. Mint for a total of 34,500,000 coins of various denominations to be struck at Philadelphia, all dated 1928. The mint struck these coins "at their convenience" starting with the silver 2 Sucres, 1 Sucre, and 50 centavos in early 1928 through August or September. The nickel 10, 5, and 2 1/2 centavos coins were struck next from October 1928 through April 1929, and finally the one centavo coins in April and May of 1929. The requested mintage of all denominations was fully struck with the exception of the one centavos. Only 2,016,000 of the requested 5,000,000 were actually struck. The centavos were shipped in 144 boxes to the Banco Centraol del Ecuador, Guayaquil by The Guaranty Trust Company of New York sometime between the beginning of June and the end of July 1929. This was the final shipment of 12 for all of the coins dated 1928.

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 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 vessel 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:
Guayas


Reverse
The reverse of this coin is very simple, containing only the denomination 1 CENTAVO surrounded by a Laurel wreath.

This coin
This coin was purchased raw and self submitted to NGC. The first time I sent it in, it came back in a bag with a label proclaiming it as having been lacquered. I did some research, and found that it was not uncommon for coins of this era to be lacquered in order to preserve their color, but that it is fairly easy to remove. I sent it back to NGC with a stop at NCS for conservation. The second time, this beautiful MS65RD coin came back. The lacquer that had darkened over time preserved the original copper color, and it looks like it just popped out of the press. As of this revision, the NGC population in MS65RD is 4 with none finer, and only one with a higher numeric grade at MS66RB. It is a beautiful coin and well worth the second trip to Florida.

Date acquired: 8/26/2007
Date graded: 11/12/2012 (self submitted to NGC)

References:
Seppa, Dale and Anderson, Michael, the COINS of ECUADOR (second edition), Almanzar's Coins of the World, San Antonio, 1973.
"Shipping Coins to Ecuador", The Numismatist February, 1929, p. 63.
"Guaranty Trust Company Ships Coins to Ecuador", The Numismatist August, 1929, p. 531.


Rev. 6/22/2020
View Coin 1928(P) 2.5C ECUADOR 2.5C 1928 KM-68 PCGS MS 65 Ecuador - 2 1/2 Centavos - (KM #68, EC #117) - Mintage: 4,000,000

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.

Ecuadorian President Isidro Ayora introduced a new monetary system in 1927 based on a reduced size, weight, and fineness sucre. In 1928, the country had the U.S. mint produce seven different denominations ranging from one centavo to two sucres. A gold Condor, (equivalent to 25 sucres) was also minted by the Birmingham mint making a total of eight different denominations minted for that year. The new sucre was nicknamed the Ayora after the President. Likewise, the new silver 50 centavos coin became known as the Lauritas after his wife Laura.

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 vessel 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:
Guayas


Reverse
The reverse of this coin is very simple, containing only the denomination 2 1/2 CENTAVOS surrounded by a Laurel wreath.

This coin
This coin is a beautiful, top population coin, and is very illusive in an uncirculated state. I would prefer it to be in an NGC holder, but I see no reason at this time for removing it from the PCGS holder.

Date acquired: 8/13/2014 (already graded by PCGS)

References:
Seppa, Dale and Anderson, Michael, the COINS of ECUADOR (second edition), Almanzar's Coins of the World, San Antonio, 1973.

Rev. 9/25/2017
View Coin 1928(P) 5C ECUADOR 5C 1928 KM-69 NGC MS 62 Ecuador - 5 Centavos - (KM #69, EC #136) - Mintage: 16,000,000

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.

Ecuadorian President Isidro Ayora introduced a new monetary system in 1927 based on a reduced size, weight, and fineness sucre. In 1928, the country had the U.S. mint produce seven different denominations ranging from one centavo to two sucres. A gold Condor, (equivalent to 25 sucres) was also minted by the Birmingham mint making a total of eight different denominations minted for that year. The new sucre was nicknamed the Ayora after the President. Likewise, the new silver 50 centavos coin became known as the Lauritas after his wife Laura.

This design first appeared on the smaller copper nickel Five Centavos coin minted by the Birmingham mint in 1924. The design is basically the same as in 1924, however the size was increased from 16.5 mm to 19.5 mm and the weight increased from 2 grams to 3 grams. This issue is one of those confusing coins where a case can be made for either side to be identified as the obverse. Krause & Mishler (KM), which is the source of the NGC World price guide, designate the date side of the coin as the obverse. I suspect though that if I send one of these to NGC for grading, they will mount the side with the bust of Rockafuerte on the label side of the holder. I will describe the coin here in those terms based on my expected outcome of grading.

Obverse
The obverse is composed of the right facing portrait of Ecuador's second President, Vicente Rocafuerte surrounded by laurel branches over the denomination 5 CENTAVOS. The steamship Guayas seen at the center of the coat of arms on the reverse was constructed by Vicente Rocafuerte and began service on October 9, 1841. The ship was the first of its kind in Ecuador and South America.

Reverse
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. The date appears below the coat of arms. 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 vessel 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:
Guayas


This coin
These coins circulated well so it is very difficult to obtain uncirculated specimens even though the coins are not particularly rare. After two failed attempts, I finally found this one which graded MS62 The sharpness of the drapery at the lower left side of the shield on the reverse cements the uncirculated condition of this coin.. The obverse shows no wear on the high points of the hair, but there are numerous light marks.

Date acquired: 2/25/2023 (Raw Coin)
Date graded: 5/4/2023 (Self submitted to NGC)

References:
Seppa, Dale and Anderson, Michael, the COINS of ECUADOR (second edition), Almanzar's Coins of the World, San Antonio, 1973.

Rev. 11/23/2018
View Coin 1928(P) 10C ECUADOR 10C 1928 KM-70 NGC MS 63 Ecuador - 10 Centavos - (KM #70, EC #162) - Mintage: 16,000,000

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.

Ecuadorian President Isidro Ayora introduced a new monetary system in 1927 based on a reduced size, weight, and fineness sucre. In 1928, the country had the U.S. mint produce seven different denominations ranging from one centavo to two sucres. A gold Condor, (equivalent to 25 sucres) was also minted by the Birmingham mint making a total of eight different denominations minted for that year. The new sucre was nicknamed the Ayora after the President. Likewise, the new silver 50 centavos coin became known as the Lauritas after his wife Laura.

This design first appeared on the smaller copper nickel Five Centavos coin minted by the Birmingham mint in 1924 and is identical in design to the 1928 5 Centavos. This issue is one of those confusing coins where a case can be made for either side to be identified as the obverse. Krause & Mishler (KM), which is the source of the NGC World price guide, designate the date side of the coin as the obverse. I suspect though that if I send one of these to NGC for grading, they will mount the side with the bust of Rockafuerte on the label side of the holder. I will describe the coin here in those terms based on my expected outcome of grading.

Obverse
The right facing portrait of Ecuador's second President, Vicente Rocafuerte surrounded by laurel branches over the denomination 5 CENTAVOS. It is interesting to note that the 1924 ten centavos bore the left facing bust of Simón Bolívar, so it is a bit surprising that this coin was patterned after the 1924 five centavos instead of the 1924 ten centavos that preceded it.

Reverse
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. The date appears below the coat of arms. Ecuador dictated the various elements 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 vessel 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:
Guayas


This coin
These coins circulated well and this is one of only five to have received an uncirculated grade by NGC, while PCGS has graded none over AU58! Finding very lightly circulated specimens is not too difficult. I've created two thirds of the the entire NGC AU58 specimens myself while hoping for a better grade. I'd just about given up hope on ever finding an uncirculated specimen when this one came across my radar. NGC has only graded 2 finer at MS64 and this is the only one at MS63. I was recently out bid for one of the MS64 coins and the MS61 is owned by a fellow collector, so I was both very surprised and pleased to see this one pop up on eBay. I've been searching for one of these for the past 15 years, so I feel very lucky to have won this coin and at a reasonable price as well.

Date acquired: 2/20/2023 (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. 6/13/2024
View Coin 1928(P) 10C DDR ECUADOR 10C 1928 DOUBLED DIE REVERSE KM-70 NGC AU 58 Ecuador - 10 Centavos - (KM #70, EC #162) - Mintage: 16,000,000

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.

Ecuadorian President Isidro Ayora introduced a new monetary system in 1927 based on a reduced size, weight, and fineness sucre. In 1928, the country had the U.S. mint produce seven different denominations ranging from one centavo to two sucres. A gold Condor, (equivalent to 25 sucres) was also minted by the Birmingham mint making a total of eight different denominations minted for that year. The new sucre was nicknamed the Ayora after the President. Likewise, the new silver 50 centavos coin became known as the Lauritas after his wife Laura.

This design first appeared on the smaller copper nickel Five Centavos coin minted by the Birmingham mint in 1924 and is identical in design to the 1928 5 Centavos. This issue is one of those confusing coins where a case can be made for either side to be identified as the obverse. Krause & Mishler (KM), which is the source of the NGC World price guide, designate the date side of the coin as the obverse. I suspect though that if I send one of these to NGC for grading, they will mount the side with the bust of Rockafuerte on the label side of the holder. I will describe the coin here in those terms based on my expected outcome of grading.

Obverse
The right facing portrait of Ecuador's second President, Vicente Rocafuerte surrounded by laurel branches over the denomination 5 CENTAVOS. It is interesting to note that the 1924 ten centavos bore the left facing bust of Simón Bolívar, so it is a bit surprising that this coin was patterned after the 1924 five centavos instead of the 1924 ten centavos that preceded it.

Reverse
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. The date appears below the coat of arms. Ecuador dictated the various elements 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 vessel 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:
Guayas


This coin
This is a very rare version of an otherwise common date. All of the peripheral lettering and the date are significantly doubled. The doubling is so strong that it can easily be seen with no magnification. These coins circulated well and this one was no different, despite it's obvious doubling. It garnered the highest grade it could given the evidence of light circulation which is particularly obvious on the drapery at the lower left side of the shield on the reverse. This variety is not listed in any of the currently available guide books.

Date acquired: 3/11/2010 (raw coin)
Date graded: 8/11/2021 (self submitted to NGC)

References:
Seppa, Dale and Anderson, Michael, the COINS of ECUADOR (second edition), Almanzar's Coins of the World, San Antonio, 1973.

Rev. 8/12/2021
View Coin 1928 50C PHILA USA ECUADOR 50C 1928 PHILA USA KM-71 NGC MS 65 Ecuador - 1928 PHILA. U.S.A - 50 Centavos - (KM #71, EC #201) - Mintage: 1,000,000

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.

Ecuadorian President Isidro Ayora introduced a new monetary system in 1927 based on a reduced size, weight, and fineness sucre. In 1928, the country had the U.S. mint produce seven different denominations ranging from one centavo to two sucres. A gold Condor, (equivalent to 25 sucres) was also minted by the Birmingham mint making a total of eight different denominations minted for that year. The new sucre was nicknamed the Ayora after the President. Likewise, the new silver 50 centavos coin became known as the Lauritas after his wife Laura.

Obverse
The distinctive portrait on the obverse of this coin is that of Antonio José de Sucre. Sucre was born in 1795 in Venezuela, and from the age of 15, spent the next 20 years fighting for independence from Spanish rule. During this time he became a collaborator of Simón Bolívar, a Venezuelan general, and the first constitutional president of Bolivia, all before the age of 35. Sucre led the patriots to a decisive victory at the battle of Pichincha on May 24, 1822, effectively freeing Ecuador from Spanish rule. His life was cut short on June 4, 1830 when he was assassinated while on his way to Quito. Sucre was laid to rest in his own Mausoleum Chapel in the Cathedral of Quito. He is considered the liberator of Ecuador, and appears on many Ecuadorian coins.

Reverse
The reverse of this coin has a number of interesting features:
  • Following the tradition set by the Quito mint, the name of the city where this coin was minted appears at the bottom under the coat of arms. In this case, PHILA. U.S.A
  • The denomination is CINCUENTA CENTAVOS (50 centavos)
  • The weight and fineness of the silver content is explicitly stated as G.2.50 and LEY 0.720 (fine) with the balance in copper.
  • 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 vessel 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, and aspect which seems to have eluded all but one mint. The following is a depiction of the 1841 steamship Guayas for comparison:
Guayas


This coin
This coin is reasonably well struck and has light peripheral toning. The obverse and reverse dies both appear to have been about midlife when this coin was struck. The surfaces are relatively free of distracting marks making it an overall beautiful example of this date.

Date acquired: 12/13/2006 (raw coin)
Date graded: 10/28/2015 (self submitted to NGC)
Date re-graded: 9/20/2016

References:
Seppa, Dale and Anderson, Michael, the COINS of ECUADOR (second edition), Almanzar's Coins of the World, San Antonio, 1973.

Rev. 9/11/2020
View Coin 1928 SUCRE PHILA USA ECUADOR SUCRE 1928 PHILA USA KM-72 NGC MS 65 Ecuador - 1928 PHILA. U.S.A. - Un Sucre - (KM #72, EC #221) - Mintage: 3,000,000

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.

Ecuadorian President Isidro Ayora introduced a new monetary system in 1927 based on a reduced size, weight, and fineness sucre. In 1928, the country had the U.S. mint produce seven different denominations ranging from one centavo to two sucres. A gold Condor, (equivalent to 25 sucres) was also minted by the Birmingham mint making a total of eight different denominations minted for that year. The new sucre was nicknamed the Ayora after the President. Likewise, the new silver 50 centavos coin became known as the Lauritas after his wife Laura.

Obverse
The distinctive portrait on the obverse of this coin is that of Antonio José de Sucre. Sucre was born in 1795 in Venezuela, and from the age of 15, spent the next 20 years fighting for independence from Spanish rule. During this time he became a collaborator of Simón Bolívar, a Venezuelan general, and the first constitutional president of Bolivia. In 1821, all before the age of 35. Sucre led the patriots to a decisive victory at the battle of Pichincha on May 24, 1822, effectively freeing Ecuador from Spanish rule. His life was cut short on June 4, 1830 when he was assassinated while on his way to Quito. Sucre was laid to rest in his own Mausoleum Chapel in the Cathedral of Quito. He is considered the liberator of Ecuador, and appears on many Ecuadorian coins.

Reverse
The reverse of this coin has a number of interesting features:
  • Following the tradition set by the Quito mint, the name of the city where this coin was minted appears at the bottom under the coat of arms. In this case, PHILA. U.S.A.
  • The denomination is UN SUCRE
  • The weight and fineness of the silver content is explicitly stated as GRAM.5. and LEY 0.720 (fine) with the balance in copper.
  • 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 vessel 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, and aspect which seems to have eluded all but one mint. The following is a depiction of the 1841 steamship Guayas for comparison:
Guayas


This coin
This coin is reasonably well struck with a uniform frosty white surface. The obverse and reverse dies both appear to have been fairly new when this coin was struck.

Date acquired: 3/29/2013 (raw coin)
Date graded: 1/12/2015 (self submitted)

References:
Seppa, Dale and Anderson, Michael, the COINS of ECUADOR (second edition), Almanzar's Coins of the World, San Antonio, 1973.

Rev. 11/23/2018
View Coin 1928 2S PHILA USA ECUADOR 2S 1928 PHILA USA KM-73 NGC MS 65 Ecuador - 1928 PHILA. U.S.A - Dos Sucres - (KM #73, EC #229) - Mintage: 500,000

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.

Ecuadorian President Isidro Ayora introduced a new monetary system in 1927 based on a reduced size, weight, and fineness sucre. In 1928, the country had the U.S. mint produce seven different denominations ranging from one centavo to two sucres. A gold Condor, (equivalent to 25 sucres) was also minted by the Birmingham mint making a total of eight different denominations minted for that year. The new sucre was nicknamed the Ayora after the President. Likewise, the new silver 50 centavos coin became known as the Lauritas after his wife Laura.

Obverse
The distinctive portrait on the obverse of this coin is that of Antonio José de Sucre. Sucre was born in 1795 in Venezuela, and from the age of 15, spent the next 20 years fighting for independence from Spanish rule. During this time he became a collaborator of Simón Bolívar, a Venezuelan general, and the first constitutional president of Bolivia, all before the age of 35. Sucre led the patriots to a decisive victory at the battle of Pichincha on May 24, 1822, effectively freeing Ecuador from Spanish rule. His life was cut short on June 4, 1830 when he was assassinated while on his way to Quito. Sucre was laid to rest in his own Mausoleum Chapel in the Cathedral of Quito. He is considered the liberator of Ecuador, and appears on many Ecuadorian coins.

Reverse
The reverse of this coin has a number of interesting features:
  • Following the tradition set by the Quito mint, the name of the city where this coin was minted appears at the bottom under the coat of arms. In this case, PHILA. U.S.A
  • The denomination is DOS SUCRES
  • The weight and fineness of the silver content is explicitly stated as GRAM.10 and LEY 0.720 (fine) with the balance in copper.
  • 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 vessel 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, and aspect which seems to have eluded all but one mint. The following is a depiction of the 1841 steamship Guayas for comparison:
Guayas


This coin
This is a beautiful coin that I was very lucky to acquire in a raw state. There is only one graded higher by NGC at the lofty level of MS67. This is a low mintage issue, so attractive, high grade mint state specimens are difficult to obtain.

Date acquired: 7/11/2019 (raw coin)
Date graded: 9/11/2021 (self submitted to NGC)

References:
Seppa, Dale and Anderson, Michael, the COINS of ECUADOR (second edition), Almanzar's Coins of the World, San Antonio, 1973.

Rev. 9/12/2021
View Coin 1930 50C PHILA USA ECUADOR 50C 1930 PHILA USA KM-71 NGC MS 66 Ecuador - 1930 PHILA. U.S.A - 50 Centavos - (KM #71, EC #202) - Mintage: 155,000

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.

Ecuadorian President Isidro Ayora introduced a new monetary system in 1927 based on a reduced size, weight, and fineness sucre. In 1928, the country had the U.S. mint produce seven different denominations ranging from one centavo to two sucres. A gold Condor, (equivalent to 25 sucres) was also minted by the Birmingham mint making a total of eight different denominations minted for that year. The new sucre was nicknamed the Ayora after the President. Likewise, the new silver 50 centavos coin became known as the Lauritas after his wife Laura.

Obverse
The distinctive portrait on the obverse of this coin is that of Antonio José de Sucre. Sucre was born in 1795 in Venezuela, and from the age of 15, spent the next 20 years fighting for independence from Spanish rule. During this time he became a collaborator of Simón Bolívar, a Venezuelan general, and the first constitutional president of Bolivia, all before the age of 35. Sucre led the patriots to a decisive victory at the battle of Pichincha on May 24, 1822, effectively freeing Ecuador from Spanish rule. His life was cut short on June 4, 1830 when he was assassinated while on his way to Quito. Sucre was laid to rest in his own Mausoleum Chapel in the Cathedral of Quito. He is considered the liberator of Ecuador, and appears on many Ecuadorian coins.

Reverse
The reverse of this coin has a number of interesting features:
  • Following the tradition set by the Quito mint, the name of the city where this coin was minted appears at the bottom under the coat of arms. In this case, PHILA. U.S.A
  • The denomination is CINCUENTA CENTAVOS (50 centavos)
  • The weight and fineness of the silver content is explicitly stated as G.2.50 and LEY 0.720 (fine) with the balance in copper.
  • 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 vessel 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, and aspect which seems to have eluded all but one mint. The following is a depiction of the 1841 steamship Guayas for comparison:
Guayas


This coin
This coin is softly struck on the high points, but is exceptionally well preserved. I acquired this coin as a raw coin from a dealer in Ecuador and held it for nearly 10 years before having it certified by NGC. Needless to say, I was very pleased with the grade it received.

As of this revision, this is the finest known specimen graded by NGC and is tied with only one other graded by PCGS.

Date acquired: 1/1/2006 (raw coin)
Date graded: 10/28/2015 (self submitted to NGC)

References:
Seppa, Dale and Anderson, Michael, the COINS of ECUADOR (second edition), Almanzar's Coins of the World, San Antonio, 1973.

Rev. 9/11/2020
View Coin 1930 SUCRE PHILA USA ECUADOR SUCRE 1930 PHILA USA KM-72 NGC MS 64 Ecuador - 1930 PHILA. U.S.A. - Un Sucre - (KM #72, EC #222) - Mintage: 400,000

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.

Ecuadorian President Isidro Ayora introduced a new monetary system in 1927 based on a reduced size, weight, and fineness sucre. In 1928, the country had the U.S. mint produce seven different denominations ranging from one centavo to two sucres. A gold Condor, (equivalent to 25 sucres) was also minted by the Birmingham mint making a total of eight different denominations minted for that year. The new sucre was nicknamed the Ayora after the President. Likewise, the new silver 50 centavos coin became known as the Lauritas after his wife Laura.

Obverse
The distinctive portrait on the obverse of this coin is that of Antonio José de Sucre. Sucre was born in 1795 in Venezuela, and from the age of 15, spent the next 20 years fighting for independence from Spanish rule. During this time he became a collaborator of Simón Bolívar, a Venezuelan general, and the first constitutional president of Bolivia, all before the age of 35. Sucre led the patriots to a decisive victory at the battle of Pichincha on May 24, 1822, effectively freeing Ecuador from Spanish rule. His life was cut short on June 4, 1830 when he was assassinated while on his way to Quito. Sucre was laid to rest in his own Mausoleum Chapel in the Cathedral of Quito. He is considered the liberator of Ecuador, and appears on many Ecuadorian coins.

Reverse
The reverse of this coin has a number of interesting features:
  • Following the tradition set by the Quito mint, the name of the city where this coin was minted appears at the bottom under the coat of arms. In this case, PHILA. U.S.A.
  • The denomination is UN SUCRE
  • The weight and fineness of the silver content is explicitly stated as GRAM.5. and LEY 0.720 (fine) with the balance in copper.
  • Ecuador dictated the various elements of their coat of arms, but the actual rendering of these elements 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 vessel 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:
Guayas


This coin
This coin is a great looking, high grade example from the collection of fellow NGC Registry participant Fernando Barciona. The mintage for 1930 was substantially less than in 1928 or 1934. The coins are very difficult to obtain in uncirculated grades.

Date acquired: 12/17/2018 (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. 12/18/2018
View Coin 1930 2S PHILA USA ECUADOR 2S 1930 PHILA USA KM-73 NGC AU 58 Ecuador - 1930 PHILA. U.S.A - Dos Sucres - (KM #73, EC #230) - Mintage: 100,000

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.

Ecuadorian President Isidro Ayora introduced a new monetary system in 1927 based on a reduced size, weight, and fineness sucre. In 1928, the country had the U.S. mint produce seven different denominations ranging from one centavo to two sucres. A gold Condor, (equivalent to 25 sucres) was also minted by the Birmingham mint making a total of eight different denominations minted for that year. The new sucre was nicknamed the Ayora after the President. Likewise, the new silver 50 centavos coin became known as the Lauritas after his wife Laura.

Obverse
The distinctive portrait on the obverse of this coin is that of Antonio José de Sucre. Sucre was born in 1795 in Venezuela, and from the age of 15, spent the next 20 years fighting for independence from Spanish rule. During this time he became a collaborator of Simón Bolívar, a Venezuelan general, and the first constitutional president of Bolivia, all before the age of 35. Sucre led the patriots to a decisive victory at the battle of Pichincha on May 24, 1822, effectively freeing Ecuador from Spanish rule. His life was cut short on June 4, 1830 when he was assassinated while on his way to Quito. Sucre was laid to rest in his own Mausoleum Chapel in the Cathedral of Quito. He is considered the liberator of Ecuador, and appears on many Ecuadorian coins.

Reverse
The reverse of this coin has a number of interesting features:
  • Following the tradition set by the Quito mint, the name of the city where this coin was minted appears at the bottom under the coat of arms. In this case, PHILA. U.S.A
  • The denomination is DOS SUCRES
  • The weight and fineness of the silver content is explicitly stated as GRAM.10 and LEY 0.720 (fine) with the balance in copper.
  • 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 vessel 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, and aspect which seems to have eluded all but one mint. The following is a depiction of the 1841 steamship Guayas for comparison:
Guayas


This coin
This is a really nice looking coin with a uniform light surface toning and a small amount of circulation wear. This is a very low mintage issue, so attractive, high grade mint state specimens are very difficult to obtain.

Date acquired: 5/17/2007 (raw coin)
Date graded: 10/28/2015 (self submitted to NGC)

References:
Seppa, Dale and Anderson, Michael, the COINS of ECUADOR (second edition), Almanzar's Coins of the World, San Antonio, 1973.

Rev. 11/23/2018
View Coin 1934 SUCRE PHILA USA ECUADOR SUCRE 1934 PHILA USA KM-72 NGC MS 66 Ecuador - 1934 PHILA. U.S.A. - Un Sucre - (KM #72, EC #223) - Mintage: 2,000,000

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.

Ecuadorian President Isidro Ayora introduced a new monetary system in 1927 based on a reduced size, weight, and fineness sucre. In 1928, the country had the U.S. mint produce seven different denominations ranging from one centavo to two sucres. A gold Condor, (equivalent to 25 sucres) was also minted by the Birmingham mint making a total of eight different denominations minted for that year. The new sucre was nicknamed the Ayora after the President. Likewise, the new silver 50 centavos coin became known as the Lauritas after his wife Laura.

Obverse
The distinctive portrait on the obverse of this coin is that of Antonio José de Sucre. Sucre was born in 1795 in The distinctive portrait on the obverse of this coin is that of Antonio José de Sucre. Sucre was born in 1795 in Venezuela, and from the age of 15, spent the next 20 years fighting for independence from Spanish rule. During this time he became a collaborator of Simón Bolívar, a Venezuelan general, and the first constitutional president of Bolivia, all before the age of 35. Sucre led the patriots to a decisive victory at the battle of Pichincha on May 24, 1822, effectively freeing Ecuador from Spanish rule. His life was cut short on June 4, 1830 when he was assassinated while on his way to Quito. Sucre was laid to rest in his own Mausoleum Chapel in the Cathedral of Quito. He is considered the liberator of Ecuador, and appears on many Ecuadorian coins.

Reverse
The reverse of this coin has a number of interesting features:
  • Following the tradition set by the Quito mint, the name of the city where this coin was minted appears at the bottom under the coat of arms. In this case, PHILA. U.S.A.
  • The denomination is UN SUCRE
  • The weight and fineness of the silver content is explicitly stated as GRAM.5. and LEY 0.720 (fine) with the balance in copper.
  • 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 vessel 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, and aspect which seems to have eluded all but one mint. The following is a depiction of the 1841 steamship Guayas for comparison:
Guayas


This coin
This coin is reasonably well struck on both sides, and the surface of the coin is very well preserved. The reverse is virtually free of scuff marks in the field and the obverse shows only minor scuff marks in the filed in the upper left quadrant.

Date acquired: 11/13/2023 (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. 1/13/2023
View Coin 1942(P) 5C ECUADOR 5C 1942 KM-75a NGC MS 67 Ecuador - 1942(P) 10 Centavos - (KM #75a, EC #138) - Mintage: 2,000,000
Brass (80% copper, 20% zinc)

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.

This coin was minted by the Philadelphia Mint using brass most likely recovered from spent artillery shell casings. Half of the mintage of this coin was listed in the U.S. Mint report of 1943, however all are dated 1942.

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:
Guayas


Reverse
The reverse of this coin is very simple, containing only the denomination 5 CENTAVOS surrounded by a Laurel wreath.

This coin
This is a beautiful coin with spectacular eye appeal. If Brass coins could receive a "Red" designation, this one would have it. As of this revision, this coin is the finest graded example of this date and denomination by either NGC or PCGS.

Date acquired: 4/6/2017 (raw coin)
Date graded: 9/28/2018 (self submitted to NGC)

References:
Seppa, Dale and Anderson, Michael, the COINS of ECUADOR (second edition), Almanzar's Coins of the World, San Antonio, 1973.

Rev. 10/2/2018
View Coin 1942(P) 10C ECUADOR 10C 1942 KM-76a NGC MS 66 Ecuador - 1942(P) 10 Centavos - (KM #76a, ES #164) - Mintage:5,000,000
Brass (80% copper, 20% zinc)

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.

This coin was minted by the Philadelphia Mint using brass most likely recovered from spent artillery shell casings. Half of the mintage of this coin was listed in the U.S. Mint report of 1943, however all are dated 1942.

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 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:
Guayas


Reverse
The reverse of this coin is very simple, containing only the denomination 10 CENTAVOS surrounded by a Laurel wreath.

This coin
This is a beautiful coin with great eye appeal. If Brass coins could receive a "Red" designation, this one would have it.

Date Acquired: 9/26/2021 (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. 9/26/2021
View Coin 1942(P) 20C ECUADOR 20C 1942 KM-77.1a NGC MS 66 Ecuador - 1942(P) 20 Centavos - (KM #77.1a, EC #190) - Mintage: 5,000,000
Brass (80% copper, 20% zinc)

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.

This coin was minted by the Philadelphia Mint using brass most likely recovered from spent artillery shell casings. Half of the mintage of this coin was listed in the U.S. Mint report of 1943, however all are dated 1942.

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:
Guayas


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 beautifu, lvery flashy coin with spectacular eye appeal. If brass coins could receive a "Red" designation, this one would have it. As of this revision, there is only one graded higher by NGC at MS66+..

Date Acquired: 4/17/2016 (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. 2/29/2024
View Coin 1944D 5C ECUADOR 5C 1944D KM-75a NGC MS 63 Ecuador - 1944D -5 Centavos - KM-75a, EC #139) - Mintage: 3,000,000
Brass (80% copper, 20% zinc)

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.

Obverse
These coins were minted for the "Republica Del Ecuador" by the Denver mint during World War II probably using brass recovered from spent artillery shell casings. The Denver mint only produced coins for Ecuador in 1944 in denominations of 5 and 20 Centavos. These are the only coins produced for Ecuador that carry a traditional single letter mint mark with the "D" appearing on the reverse at the top of the coin. 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:
Guayas


Reverse
The reverse of this coin is very simple, containing only the denomination 5 CENTAVOS surrounded by a Laurel wreath. The Denver mint mark is centered at the top.

This coin
This coin is a two year type with a respectable mintage, but high grade, untarnished, uncirculated specimens are difficult to obtain. As of this revision, this is one of only three mint state specimens graded by NGC.

Date acquired: 12/6/2015 (raw coin)
Date graded: 3/3/2016 (self submitted to NGC)

References:
Seppa, Dale and Anderson, Michael, the COINS of ECUADOR (second edition), Almanzar's Coins of the World, San Antonio, 1973.

Rev. 9/28/2017
View Coin 1944D 20C ECUADOR 20C 1944D KM-77.1a NGC MS 65 Ecuador - 1944D -20 Centavos - (KM-77.1a, EC #191) - Mintage: 15,000,000
Brass (80% copper, 20% zinc)

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.

Obverse
These coins were minted for the "Republica Del Ecuador" by the Denver mint during World War II probably using brass recovered from spent artillery shell casings. The Denver mint only produced coins for Ecuador in 1944 in denominations of 5 and 20 Centavos. These are the only coins produced for Ecuador that carry a traditional single letter mint mark with the "D" appearing on the reverse at the top of the coin. 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:
Guayas


Reverse
The reverse of this coin is very simple, containing only the denomination 20 CENTAVOS surrounded by a Laurel wreath. The Denver mint mark is centered at the top.

This coin
This coin is a two year type with a very substantial mintage, but high grade, untarnished, uncirculated specimens are difficult to obtain. This is a beautiful specimen, with only one graded higher in MS66.

Date acquired: 7/5/2018 (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. 7/8/2018
View Coin 1946(P) 5C ECUADOR 5C 1946 KM-75b NGC MS 66 Ecuador - 1946 5 Centavos - (KM#75b, EC #140) - Mintage: 40,000,000
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:
Guayas


Reverse
The reverse of this coin is very simple, containing only the denomination 5 CENTAVOS surrounded by a Laurel wreath.

This coin
This coin is a well struck gem with a bright freshly struck look. NGC has none graded higher.

Date acquired: 12/28/2020 (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. 12/28/2020
View Coin 1946(P) 10C ECUADOR 10C 1946 KM-76b NGC MS 66 Ecuador - 1946 10 Centavos - (KM#76b, EC #165) - Mintage: 40,000,000
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 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:
Guayas


Reverse
The reverse of this coin is very simple, containing only the denomination 10 CENTAVOS surrounded by a Laurel wreath.

This coin
This coin is a beautiful, flashy, bright white example of this very common date. It is a common coin in a very uncommon condition. As of this revision this is one of the finest examples of this year and denomination know with an NGC population of 3/0.

Date acquired: 11/27/2014 (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. 10/20/2018
View Coin 1946(P) 20C ECUADOR 20C 1946 KM-77.1b NGC MS 66 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:
Guayas


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
View Coin 1946(P) SUCRE ECUADOR SUCRE 1946 KM-78.2 NGC MS 65 Ecuador - 1946 - Un Sucre - (KM #78.2, EC #225) - Mintage: 18,000,000
Composition: 100% 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.

The country was in turmoil through much of the 1930's and a nickel sucre coin was introduced replacing the silver sucre which was last minted in 1934 by the Philadelphia mint. The government announced later in 1937 that the nickel sucre was intended to be provisional and could eventually be redeemed for a silver sucre. This never happened, and 1937 marked the end of the silver sucre. 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.

This issue echos the design style of the 1924 and 1928, 5 and 10 Centavo coins. It is also one of those confusing coins where a case can be made for either side to be identified as the obverse. Krause & Mishler (KM), which is the source of the NGC World price guide, designate the date side of the coin as the obverse. NGC, however designates the figure side of the coin as the obverse and mounts the side with the bust of Sucre on the label side of the holder. I will describe the coin here in those terms.

Obverse
The distinctive portrait on the obverse of this coin is that of Antonio José de Sucre. Sucre was born in 1795 in Venezuela, and from the age of 15, spent the next 20 years fighting for independence from Spanish rule. During this time he became a collaborator of Simón Bolívar, a Venezuelan general, and the first constitutional president of Bolivia, all before the age of 35. Sucre led the patriots to a decisive victory at the battle of Pichincha on May 24, 1822, effectively freeing Ecuador from Spanish rule. His life was cut short on June 4, 1830 when he was assassinated while on his way to Quito. Sucre was laid to rest in his own Mausoleum Chapel in the Cathedral of Quito. He is considered the liberator of Ecuador, and appears on many Ecuadorian coins. On this version of the UN SUCRE coin, the bust of Sucre is surrounded by laurel branches over the denomination UN SUCRE.

Reverse
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:
Guayas


This coin
This is a softly struck, although very well preserved example of this very common coin. NGC has graded only three finer at MS66.

Date acquired: 12/8/2015 (raw coin)
Date graded: 3/3/2016 (self submitted)

References:
Seppa, Dale and Anderson, Michael, the COINS of ECUADOR (second edition), Almanzar's Coins of the World, San Antonio, 1973.

Rev. 11/23/2018

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