Mona island, rare coins

[Alex Island]

Wery rarely encountered tokens, Mona Island - Isla de la Mona, West-Indies

« THE COINS OF THE ISLAND OF MONA ». By Dr. Ovidio Dávila , 2014
(c)
We offer here an image of a 1/4 real coin, Dominican Republic, 1844, with the countermark "mona", stamped like this for use as a payment token in mining work on Mona Island, ca. 1880-1890.
The activities of extracting guano or bat manure were part of the economic production activities practiced by the owners of haciendas, ranches and agricultural farms in Puerto Rico where there were caves and cavernous systems in which this compost or natural fertilizer accumulated and renewable.

Due to this, we consider that the Dominican coins of 1/4 of real, of the issues of 1844 and 1848, which were used in the 19th century on Isla de la Mona as a payment system or accounting of labor performance in activities of guano extraction that were carried out there, can be included within the category of "riles" or agricultural files.

In mid-1988 - 27 long years ago - the renowned merchant and numismatic expert Luis A. Cuyar Álvarez, owner of the coin, numismatic accessories and effects shop for collectors, "Blanco y Negro" (the one with the longest service in the history of Puerto Rico, with over 40 years of open doors and service to the public), acquired from the philatelic and numismatic collector of Mayagüez, the psychiatrist Dr. Francisco Zamora, a lot containing several of these countermarked coins from Mona Island. He had acquired them by inheritance from his father, dr. José Julián Zamora Rovira, a prominent pharmacist from Aguadilla and the western region of Puerto Rico, who from the late 19th and early 20th centuries,

They were sold to various collectors, among them the renowned numismatist (and now deceased) specialist in numismatics, historical documents, etc., Efraín Archilla Díez.

As it turned out later, the American numismatist and ornamental plants entrepreneur Edward H. Roehrs had acquired from Dr. Zamora himself, in the 1970s, a set of one of these Monense coins. Evidence of this appears in the list and quotation that was made of this collection after Roehrs' death, where the individual who prepared said inventory and valuation, describes it, under number 4, as «" Mona "c / s host - Dominican Republic 1844 copper ead [referring to Efraín Archilla Díez's catalog] 690 », listing a rarity index of 'RRR' and a market price of $ 1,250.00.

In any case, the first numismatic documentation of these countermarked coins from Isla de la Mona was made by Efraín Archilla Díez on October 30, 1988, through an article with photos of the piece that appeared that day in the magazine "Puerto Rico Ilustrado "(Pp. 6-7) of the disappeared newspaper" El Mundo "(San Juan de Puerto Rico).

Two years later, in 1990, Efrain Archilla Díez, published an article on these countermarked Dominican coins, for use in the fossil guano mining operations on the island of Mona, in the world-renowned magazine "The Numismatist", under the title "Bats, Caves and Caribbean Treasure: Countermarked Coins from the Island of Mona" (vol. 103, no. 7, pages 1087-1090).

In 2000 the enlarged, second and final edition of the encyclopedic work "Latin American Tokens" by the scholar and renowned numismatist Rusell Rulau (Krause Publications, Iola, Wisconsin, 480 pp.) Came to light, where, under the section dedicated to PORT RICO catalogs and recognizes these MONA countermarked Dominican Republic coins as parts used during guano mining operations on the island in the late 19th century. On page 178 they are listed under the designations Mna 1 (1844) and Mna 2 (1848).

I, for my part, in 2003, consigned, as an expert archaeologist and titled historian (with over 40 years of experience in these fields, as well as my own numismatic researcher with over 50 years of activity and recognized expertise in this auxiliary science of the history), the authenticity of said coins as effectively and proven used on Isla de la Mona during the period of mining on Isla de la Mona towards the end of the 19th century, in my 482-page book entitled "Archeología de la Isla de la Mona "(Editorial of the Institute of Puerto Rican Culture, san juan, 2003).

And to top it all off, in 2010 the best and most comprehensive historiographical and naturalist work that has been written about our legendary islet appeared, "Mona: a legend between the sea and the sun" (Impressive Publications, San Juan, Puerto Rico, 224 pp.), the work of the renowned naturalist and environmental historian, and extraordinary graphic artist of the lens, Víctor Manuel Nieves, and on page 83 of this award-winning volume (Institute of Puerto Rican Literature), documents for posterity a section entitled "The numismatic heritage de Mona ", which is illustrated with a beautiful and magnificent copy of one of these countermarked coins from Mona Island.

In numismatics the interest and value of the pieces is established by the numismatists themselves. The very few pieces from the Isla de la Mona that have recently hit the market have been immediately acquired by numismatic specialists and connoisseurs of these rare and particular pieces from the Isla de la Mona.

Just ask any of the three main numismatic merchants in Puerto Rico ―Edoardo Grande, Jorge Caro and Luis M. Cuyar Álvarez―, and they will confirm the long waiting list that operates in their businesses, on behalf of the many numismatists of Puerto Rico and abroad who are willing to pay over $ 2,500.00 in order to obtain for their collections at least one of the three known varieties of these coveted coins.

Mona Island map

[Alex Island]

I was interested in the fact that I had never seen this island and these coins at auction dedicated to the West Indies.
I also found another curious modern token for this island:

[Alex Island]

The add-on appeared recently:

[malj1]

Anglesey, off the coast of Wales, was called Mona by the Romans – and it keeps that name today in Welsh as "Ynys Mon" or "Mona Island."

[Alex Island]

Anglesey, off the coast of Wales, was called Mona by the Romans – and it keeps that name today in Welsh as "Ynys Mon" or "Mona Island."

Yes, interestingly, I saw that on many medals two names are written. This is a different island and a separate topic. Here is an example of two names for this island:

[Alex Island]

Another option is "Isle of Mona", but in this case I think it's "Isle of Man": (?)

[Alex Island]

Some addition on the topic: