Owner Comments:
The 1886 JM Cuzco Dinero is a single year type coin; the only year a Dinero was minted in Cuzco.
There was a great shortage of small change in Peru in the 1880's after the War of the Pacific. Tokens in North Peru, and "astilladas" (larger coins cut into smaller sections) in South Peru were employed in commerce to meet the needs of daily commerce. The brief coinage at Cuzco and Arequipa in 1885-1886 was an attempt to bring forth more small coin to replace the astilladas. But the minting presses were in disrepair and the coins were of low quality. They were not widely accepted by the population, and did not make a dent in replacing the astilladas. These Dineros did circulate, however, as most are found in lower grades. It is reported that most Cuzco Dineros are light in weight.
The design details are similar, but more crudely done, compared to the Lima Dineros. Because the design is flat and wears down quickly, most examples that exist are found in lower grades, often cleaned. Uncirculated examples are truly rare. The comprehensive Whittier collection only boasted a cleaned AU, and the Lissner example an AU 55. Auction catalogs have reported these as "rare in any grade". This is not so. In grades of VF or lower, the 1886 Cuzco Dinero is available. In uncleaned XF, it becomes difficult. In AU or better it is rare. Only three mint state examples are known to me. They are the three graded at NGC; one is a details coin. More do likely exist in Peru collections.
Three in VF, one in AU 55, and two in MS 62, all at NGC. There is also one VF Details. And one UNC Details (graded at the same time as one of the MS 62's). There are also two AU 50 Details/Cleaned at ANACS.
Varieties for this coin can be confusing. I will try to make some sense of them:
Flatt lists a four varieties based on the "1" in the date:
1. Normal "1"
2. "1" upside down,
3. "1" over upside-down "1" that also doesn't show the engravers initials "TB" to the left of Liberty's shield.
4. Roman "1", die rotations known.
The normal "1" should have both serifs at the bottoms, and one at the top going left. The upside down "1" is not quite what is sounds like. It has both serifs at top, but only one at left at the bottom. So it is a "reversed" upside down "1". The roman "1" has both serifs at top and bottom, and the 1/1 is fairly obvious. All this said, these four varieties are not hard and fast rules. Some "1's" are kind of blobby or have weak serifs, thus making the variety hard to distinguish.
These also come without or without initials to the left of the shield on the obverse. There has been confusion as to what exactly these initials are. Yabar Acuna has determined that the initials are "FB" and stand for one Felix Bragagnini Gai. Flatt accepts the research, but also feels that some of the initials say "TB". Krause reports only an "FB".
My personal opinion is that they all appear to be "TB". While most all examples lack the left serif of a "T", or the bottom serif of a "F", I have seen one example that has both serifs of the "T". I don't think there is a definitive answer to this question, however. What is clear, is that the "with initials" coins are the more common variety. I have seen three no initials coins. One is the 1/1 as Flatt reported. The other two are, as a best guess, upside down "1's". Of the varieties of "1's", it would seem that the 1/1 is perhaps most scarce. The others are hard to judge rarity.
I'm lucky to own one of two Uncirculated 1886 Cuzco Dineros graded in MS 62 at NGC. This example is bright white with extreme die polishing on the obverse over reflective semi-PL fields. Roman "1" with initials to the left of the shield, strong die clashing and a rotated reverse of 25 degrees. Given the condition rarity, and history of this coin, a museum quality piece of Peruvian history.
Photographs copyright Numisor.