Guatemala, silver quarter-real, 1898

Guatemala, silver quarter-real, 1898





Obverse: Three volcanic mountain peaks, the central one smoking, sun above, date below.
Reverse: Denomination within wreath, five stars below.

KM162, .835 silver/.0207 oz., PCGS MS66, cert. #11572895. Ex-Coins To Medals (VCoins store), 9/1/2016.

This is a tiny little coin, but sometimes good things come in small packages. With its supergem grade, flashy luster, and attractive toning, it has terrific eye appeal. The catalog value even in Mint State is fairly modest, and I paid many multiples of that for this piece, but considering it's tied with one other for second highest graded at PCGS (pop. 2/1; there is one MS67 graded), I thought it was a nice pickup for less than 75 dollars after shipping. With a mintage of 384,000, it is also the second-lowest mintage for the type. This is another coin that will occasionally serve as a "transitional" piece when my Box of 20 is undergoing changes or other coins are out for grading, etc.

Miscellaneous links:
PCGS cert verification page
NGC/Krause priceguide listing
Original dealer listing

Wikipedia links:
Guatemala
1898 (historical events of the year)