Owner Comments:
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