Plain edge. Signed L.C.W. under the bust for English engraver Leonard Charles Wyon. A spectacular example of this very rare pattern, richly toned in clouds of deep gray and navy blue but yielding brighter pastel blue and rose tones in a light. Extremely sharp and detailed, free of even the most minor disturbance, just a whisper of cabinet friction on the highest relief of the portraits hair. Missing from both the 1985 and 1997 Norweb offerings, unplated in Restrepo. This is probably the piece from lot 625 of the February 1935 Waldo Newcomer sale by Wayte Raymond, described as "1858 Pattern of Bogotá 20 Pesos by L.C. Wyon. Brilliant proofs in silver and copper. Very rare. 2 pcs." While this coins source and date of acquisition has been lost, given the rarity of this issue the Newcomer provenance seems more likely than not. A beautiful and important piece, probably coined in England from dies intended for the Bogotá mint, struck the year before the beginning of 20 Pesos production in Colombia. From the Eldorado Collection of Colombian and Ecuadorian Coins.
