TRIVIA: The Provisional Coins of Peru During The 5 Year Bird Manure War...

The Provisional Coins of Peru During The 5 Year Bird Manure War:

From 1879 to 1884 Bolivia, Chile and Peru engaged in the War of The Pacific over control of huge piles of bird droppings (Guano) which were mined to obtain nitrate for crop fertilizer and the production of gunpowder&

Bird Guano (from the Ancient Quechua wanu, via the interpretations of the conquering Spanish Conquistadores) is the excrement (feces and urine) of seabirds, bats and harbor seals. Guano manure is an effective fertilizer and gunpowder ingredient due to its high levels of phosphorus and nitrogen and, also, its lack of odor. </br>
Before you get antsy about this trivia, let me assure you the numismatic value will come, but first some basic info on Guano.

Incas collected Guano from the coast of Peru for use as a soil enricher. The Incas assigned great value to Guano, restricting access to it and punishing any disturbance to the roosting and nesting birds with death.

Guano has been harvested over several centuries along the coast of Peru, where islands and rocky shores have been sheltered from humans and predators. The Guanay Cormorant has historically been the most important producer of Guano; its Guano is richer in nitrogen than Guano from other seabirds. Other important Guano producing species off the coast of Peru include the Peruvian Pelican and the Peruvian Booby.

Guano Nest of The Peruvian Booby.

In November 1802, Alexander von Humbolt studied Guano and its fertilizing properties at Callao in Peru.


1884 Guano Advertisement.


The high concentration of nitrates also made Guano an important Military commodity. The Bird Manure War better known by historians as the War of the Pacific (1879 to 1884) between the Peru-Bolivia alliance and Chili was primarily based upon Bolivia's attempt to tax Chilean Guano harvesters and take over control of a part of the Atacam Desert that lies between the 23rd and 26th parallels on the Pacific coast. The discovery during the 1840s of the use of Guano as a fertilizer and its Chile saltpetre content as a key ingredient in explosives made the area strategically valuable.

The Territory Fought Over.

Not only was Chili the Victor, but two side-effects occurred:</br>
1. The Peru-Bolivia alliance was rendered null and void, thereby making Bolivia a land-locked country.
2. The costs of the war devastated Peru's economy so much so that during the years of 1879 and 1880 Peru issued a Provisional non-silver coinage.

This brings us to the numismatic connection of this War Over Bird Manure.

As luck would have it Don's World Coin Gallery (worldcoingallery.com) has some photos of Peru's Provisional coins:

5 Centavos 1879-1880

10 Centavos 1879-1880

Thought you should know...

Clinker