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Paraguay: gold uner pesu coin of 1904

Started by <k>, July 24, 2024, 05:14:45 PM

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<k>

Visit the website of The Royal Mint Museum.

See: The Royal Mint Museum.

Figleaf

#1
Not an official issue, I think. None of the words in the legend make sense, yet words like pattre (patria) and pesu (peso) are reminiscent of existing words in Spanish, suggesting a slogan, a name and a denomination. While each of the elements look professional, there are mistakes an official mint would not normally make. The largest mistake is the obverse legend, which is clockwise on the left and counter-clockwise on the right.

If this is a 5 gram gold piece, it is too expensive to be a token or a fantasy. My best guess is that it is a jewellery piece or an art medal, possibly a comment on the status of American Indians. It would be interesting to know what made Coin Archives or you decide to assign it to Paraguay.

Peter
An unidentified coin is a piece of metal. An identified coin is a piece of history.

<k>

I do not know why the piece was ascribed to Paraguay. At first I thought the language could be Esperanto or maybe Catalan, but it's just Spanish-like nonsense. Yet the piece is made of gold, which suggests a higher purpose than the nonsense text does.
Visit the website of The Royal Mint Museum.

See: The Royal Mint Museum.

FosseWay

This online auction attributes it to Peru, again without showing any working.

I initially searched for "Curamay", wondering whether it was the name of a prominent Native American (who might or might not be the subject of the portrait), in the same spirit as Urracá on Panamanian coins. I didn't get any sensible hits, but the hits I did get seemed to prefer Bolivia over any other South American country.

Figleaf

Thank you for the link, FosseWay. It claims that the date is bogus. I agree with that sentiment. The story that it was struck in 1904, to remain totally unknown and two different pieces of this type resurfacing exactly 120 years later has no credibility with me. Since it is small, good gold and several pieces were struck and since the source of the other piece is Oswal Auctions (Mumbai), I no longer believe in the art medal option and go for a jewellery piece - the insatiable demand for gold in India is proverbial.

Peter
An unidentified coin is a piece of metal. An identified coin is a piece of history.

stef

I couldn't find any information about the token, but there are some clues pointing to Venezuela (about the subject, not the origin):

The reverse can be seen here (near the end):
"Piedra del Sol y la Luna", Caicara del Orinoco. Versión J.M. Cruxent. Fuente: Padilla, 1956.

A similar text "Pattre Quiur Hoima Cap" (caribe language) linked with the tribe leader (cacique) Paramaconi (but nothing about ocuary).

Another cacique Chicuramay.

Figleaf

All great leads to where the inspiration for the piece came from, Stef! I doubt if any other group or individual analyst could have come this far, especially in so little time. Great stuff!

Peter
An unidentified coin is a piece of metal. An identified coin is a piece of history.