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Incredible Early Texas Coin to be Offered
at Auction!
1818
½ Reale is One of the Oldest Texas Coins Known to Exist
Dallas, Texas: The history of Texas is long and storied. Alonso
Alvarez de Pineda mapped the coastline of the land that would become Texas as
early as 1519, and after that for many years the land was claimed at one time
or another by both the Spanish and the French. 1682 saw the establishment of
the first Spanish Mission, near present-day El Paso, and almost two hundred
years after de Pineda’s voyage, the San Antonio de Valera Mission, whose
chapel was named The Alamo was built in 1718. |
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By 1813,
Moses Austin and his son, Stephen, were granted permission by the Spanish
government to establish a colony of Anglo-Americans in Texas, and in March of
1817, at the order of Lt. Col. Manuel Prado in what is now San Antonio, the
first coins of the new land were struck.
“Prado authorized that
some 8,000 coins be struck in 1817,” said Greg Rohan, President of
Heritage Auction Galleries of Dallas, Texas. “None of these pieces are
known to exist today. If any did turn up, they would have the 1817 date as well
as the initials of Manuel Barrera, a local merchant and jeweler who apparently
struck the coins. The few coins that are known bear the 1818 date and the
initials of Jose Antonio de la Garza (JAG), the local postmaster to whom was
granted the coining monopoly on December 6, 1818. The denomination (1/2) is
sideways between JAG and the date, and the reverse has what may be the first
appearance of the Lone Star to represent Texas.”
“Very few
jolas are known to exist today,” Rohan said. “There are probably
fewer than 100 in all grades, most of which came from a hoard of about 60
pieces discovered on the banks of the San Antonio River in 1959. Almost all of
the known examples show some degree of corrosion from having been buried for
150 years. This particular example is a well centered coin with even brown
patina and moderately corroded surfaces. The only striking deficiency is
weakness on the second 8 in the date.”
“The Texas jola is an
issue that, if we can borrow a term from the music industry, has great
crossover potential,” Rohan added. “It appeals to U.S. colonial coin
collectors, collectors of Mexican numismatics, or Spanish colonial issues, as
well Texas numismatists no matter what their numismatic specialty. This
offering represents a rare opportunity to acquire this important colonial
coin.”
Heritage Auction Galleries will offer the 1818 1/2RL New
Spain (Texas) Jola Half Real, Large Planchet XF40 NGC in their upcoming
Signature Auction, to be held April 26-29, 2006 as the official auctioneer of
the Central States Numismatic Society’s 2006 Convention, at the Greater
Columbus Convention Center, located at 400 North High Street, Columbus,
Ohio.
The 1818 1/2RL New Spain (Texas) Jola Half Real, Large Planchet
XF40 NGC bears a pre-auction estimate of $20,000 - $30,000.
1818
1/2RL New Spain (Texas) Jola Half Real, Large Planchet XF40 NGC:
To reserve your copy of a catalog for any upcoming Heritage auction,
please contact Nicole Jewell, c/o Heritage Auction Galleries, 3500 Maple
Avenue, 17th Floor, Dallas, TX 75219, or call 1-800-872-6467, ext.
272.
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Media Contact:
Cathy
Hadd, 1-800-872-6467 Ext. 216; Cathy@HeritageAuctions.com
Greg Rohan,
1-800-872-6467 Ext. 300; Rohan@HeritageAuctions.com
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| Publication Date: 03/28/2006 |
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