Lot 926
Argentina - Confederation. 8 Reales, 1838-R (Rioja). KM-8; WR-4; Eliz-26. Mountain peak, crossed artillery and pennants beneath. Reverse: Oval shield with hands holding liberty cap, wreath around, topped by radiant sun. Choice even strike, on clean, lustrous fields. Lovely old collection toning comprising dark golds and rose, with steely blues and hints of green. In remarkable preservation. Perhaps the finest known of this key date. NGC graded MS-63.
First year issue of the Argentine Republic, struck by order of General Brizuela, who was governor and commander-in-chief of the Province of La Rioja. These were issued in honor of General Rosas who was governor and commander-in-chief of the Province of Buenos Aires, and to a large extent the main leader in charge of external affairs for the Confederation.
Argentina, after intermittent fighting for over half a decade, finally declared its independence from Spain on July, 9, 1816. But the fighting in the country was hardly over. In its simplest, the fighting, maneuverings, and anarchy that would continue for the next decades would revolve around two major factions: the "Unitarians" who wanted to unify the country, with Buenos Aires as the governing seat, and the "Federalists," who resented the dominance of Buenos Aires, and were backed by the autocratic caudillos (strongmen), large land owners, and their gaucho troops. The most notorious of the caudillos, General Juan Manuel de Rosas, ascended to his first high office as promoter of the Federalist faction when he became governor of Buenos Aires in 1829 (with dictatorial powers). Later he established a dictatorship, which endured from 1835 to 1852, and which saw bloody pogroms waged against his political adversaries, as well as expeditions against the indigenous peoples. His government became a ruthless tyranny. Assisted by spies, propagandists, and the Mazorca (a secret political society that degenerated into a band of assassins), he instituted a regime of terror. Though he was adulated in public, successive and continuous revolutions were organized against his rule. Rosas was finally toppled in 1852, whereupon the dictator fled to England, living there in exile until his death. Ironically, however, his "federalist" regime ended up doing more than the Unitarians to unify the country.
Estimated Value $1,750 - 2,000.
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| Realized $4,140 |
