Unpublished countermark

Sale: CNG 75, Lot: 1325. Estimate $300.  Closing Date: Wednesday, 23 May 2007.  Sold For $700. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

MEXICO, War of Independence. Uncertain issuer. Circa 1806-1821. AR 8 Reales (27.27 g, 12h). Countermark on 8 Reales of Charles IV of Spain from Lima mint dated 1806. Laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust right; c/m: incuse eagle standing right, head left / Crowned arms of Spain between pillars. Host coin: ME 13966; KM 97; For countermark: unpublished, but cf. KM 276-278 for a similar eagle type. Coin VF, countermark Good VF, toned.

This incuse eagle countermark is apparently an unpublished type. While a number of eagle countermarks are published, almost all have elements that vary from the present type. Perhaps the most significant is the position of the wings. Most eagles are represented in a frontal view, with both wings stretched outward. Here, the wings are spread, but the eagle is standing to the right, such that the right wing is curving back towards the left at the bottom. Also, most eagles have their heads facing to the right, whereas ours is to the left. The closest match, and the only one to have both of these elements, is the countermark attributed to General Vincente Guerrero from the period of the Mexican Revolution.