Colombia-Numismatics · Lazarettos
2 centavos coin, 1921
2 centavos · Lazaretto · 1921
A 1921 cupronickel 2 centavos, struck at Bogotá for the lazaretto cordon. The obverse shows the cross with LAZARETO and the date; the reverse, the value inside a wreath.
Catalog facts
- Reference
- KM# L10 · Restrepo 355.1 · Hernández Cód. 313 · Numista N#6830
- Year
- 1921
- Metal
- Copper-nickel (type specification)
- Mint
- Bogotá
- Condition
- Circulated, unslabbed. The date 1921, the legend, and the value 2 are readable; a worn mark sits under the bow and the initials RH cannot be read with certainty. Photographs do not authenticate the metal (private collection)
Obverse
Reverse
The piece
In 1921 the Bogotá mint struck cupronickel whose circulation was limited to the lazaretto cordon: Agua de Dios, Contratación, and Caño del Oro. This disc shows, on the obverse, the cross with LAZARETO, the legend REPUBLICA DE COLOMBIA — without an accent, as engraved — and the date 1921; on the reverse, an ornamental 2 above CENTAVOS, inside a leafy wreath tied with a bow. It is type KM# L10, Restrepo 355.1, and Hernández Cód. 313 (8th ed. 2023). Hernández groups with that year, also in cupronickel and with the same legend, the 1, 5, 10, and 50 centavos. The initials RH of engraver Roberto Hinestrosa belong to the type, under the reverse bow; a worn mark remains there and the letters cannot be read with certainty. They do not mark a variety. A weight of 3 g, a diameter of 18.89 mm, a plain edge, and coin alignment are catalogue figures: this specimen was not weighed or measured. The design names no single lazaretto. The nickname coscoja began with the 1907 nickel paper-money pesos; this piece is not that module, nor the 1928 bronze 50 centavos, nor the 1902 Palonegro brass. Unslabbed; the photographs do not authenticate the metal.
Scarcity
Numista publishes 300,000 pieces for the 1921 RH issue (N#6830). CoinVarieties, for KM# L10 and Restrepo 355.1, publishes 350,000. Those are disagreeing catalogue totals, not a production range and not a Banco de la República figure: BanRep’s coin tables begin in 1987. The type turns up in circulated condition. This record publishes neither prices nor a slab census.
Sources
- Numista — 2 centavos, leprosarium coinage, Colombia (N#6830) (opens in a new tab)
KM# L10; type copper-nickel, 3 g and 18.89 mm; plain edge; coin alignment. It publishes 300,000 for the 1921 RH issue. The initials RH sit under the bow. Value columns are not cited here.
- CoinVarieties — Lazaretto 2 centavos, 1921 RH (opens in a new tab)
Restrepo 355.1 and KM# L10; it publishes 350,000, and the initials RH of Roberto Hinestrosa. Auction prices are not published.
- Pedro Pablo Hernández — Coins and Banknotes of Colombia, 8th ed. 2023 (Numista L100183) (opens in a new tab)
Cód. 313: 1921 2 centavos, Bogotá, copper-nickel; obverse República de Colombia, cross, and Lazareto. The same table lists the 1, 5, 10, and 50 centavos of that year. Price columns and plates are not published.
- Banrepcultural — The coin of the lazarettos (opens in a new tab)
The 1901, 1907, 1921, and 1928 series for Agua de Dios, Contratación, and Caño del Oro. This piece’s design names none of the three.
Related pieces
Other records from the same issuer or era in this case.
