The E-Sylum:  Volume 7, Number 13, March 28, 2004, Article 14

JARA'S THE CHILOE PESO PUBLISHED

  Alan Luedeking writes: "I'm pleased to announce the release
  of another of Carlos Jara's works on Chilean numismatics,
  "The Chiloé Peso - An Important Obsidional Coin of Chile".
  This work is the definitive study on what is in all probability the
  very last crown ever issued under official Spanish authority (in
  1826) in the New World. It is a very rare cast coin whose
  history has always been shrouded in mystery, and of which
  numerous dangerous forgeries have been concocted for ]
  collectors since the time of its circulation (note that all public
  offerings of these coins, some by very prestigious numismatists
  dealing in Latin American coinage, have been modern forgeries.)

  This book unveils for the first time the full historical background
  of this enigmatic coin, based entirely on contemporary and other
  historical documentation, which Carlos studied in depth, often
  being the first to break the seals on the dusty packets since the
  time the Chilean government first archived them in the 19th
  Century. A detailed cataloguing of the forgeries, both
  contemporary and modern, and how to distinguish them, with
  numerous illustrations and a detailed history of the coin's
  appearances at auction, are woven into the presentation of its
  historical context.

  The Spanish Commander Antonio Quintanilla was the last
  royal (and loyal) governor to hold out against republican forces
  anywhere in South America, and defended his island almost to
  the last man. Severe coin shortages forced him to finally issue
  cast coins with silver captured by privateers he had commissioned
  with letters of marque to prey up and down the coast.  He was
  already then concerned with the potential ease of counterfeiting,
  and so devised a unique way of identifying his original obsidional
  issue, built into the manufacturing process.

  It should be noted that I had some involvement with the creation
  of this work, and Carlos has honored me with a co-authorship
  of it, though I hasten to emphasize that all the merit of the research
  and its conclusions belong to Carlos. Being so specialized, he has
  produced this work in a very limited edition of only 40 hand-
  numbered copies, hardbound in black linen with a pictorial
  dustjacket, quarto in size. He has so far only presold a dozen or
  so, I believe, at $47 apiece, postpaid to the United States.

  Interested readers may apply for their copy directly to Carlos
  Jara at  clejara at yahoo.com.  For those who would rather
  borrow it, I will be donating a copy each to the Numismatics
  International and American Numismatic Societies libraries."

  Wayne Homren, Editor

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