Owner Comments:
CYPRUS, QUEEN VICTORIA 1 PIASTRE 1884.
OBVERSE: Young head of Victoria facing left and wearing a coronet ornamented with oak leaves and scrolls.
REVERSE: 1 within a beaded circle.
ENGRAVER: Leonard Charles Wyon.
DIAMETER: 32 mm
WEIGHT: 11.66 g
EDGE: Plain.
METAL COMPOSITION: Copper 95%, Tin 4%, Zinc 1%.
MINTAGE: 18,000
RARITY: Extremely rare in any condition. With only 18,000 pieces coined, the 1884 piastre, along with the 1882H piastre (Heaton), has the lowest mintage among the early series (Key dates of the incredibly difficult Victorian piastre collection). It is an elusive coin in any grade. Even circulated examples are elusive with most grades no better than VF or thereabouts.
1884 PIASTRE AU 55 BN
Very choice specimen in this state of preservation.
Well struck and detailed with traces of luster in the legends.
NGC: Tied with one other as finest known.