Republic gold 10 Pesos 1883 AU50 NGC, Tegucigalpa mint, KM58, Fr-5. A most appreciable and desirable date and denomination from Honduras. The 10 and 20 Pesos issues of 1883 remain as absolute rarities, seen at market once every few years despite a group of 13 pieces uncovered in the early 2000s. One of only four pieces have been witnessed in the last decade with each in comparable preservation. However, this example is one of the nicer coins from the recently uncovered group and thus represents an important numismatic item, one which is virtually unattainable to most collectors. The aforementioned group of thirteen 1883 10 Pesos were struck at a slightly later date, as was accepted and legal practice at the Tegucigalpa mint, probably as wedding tokens of a (very) wealthy groom for his future wife. This in indeed confirmed by two almost contemporary and independent reports proving that Honduras did not strike regular issue gold coins until 1888: a testimony from Mr. Consul Herring on the Honduran coinage of 1885 included in the 1888 "Report of the (United States) Director of the Mint" states that "There has never been any gold coined in the country" while Esteban Lazo ("Historia de la Moneda en Honduras", October 16, 1888) indicates that the first gold in denominations of 20, 5 and 1 peso (note the absence of the 10 Pesos denomination) minted in "... May of this year (of 1888) were the first gold coins minted in Honduras and, as such, will represent a milestone in the story of the country". Many of the 13 pieces from the wedding dowry have been harshly cleaned, and most all have at least some evidence of light cleaning. Several have been polished, or have other similar problems. Ex. Heritage Auction #3051 (January 2015, Lot 31192) HID09801242017 © 2023 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved

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