CHILE. Copper 8 Escudos Pattern, 1836-So IJ. Santiago Mint. NGC MS-62 Brown. KM-Pn4 var.; Onza-1634 var.; Fonrobert-9866. Reeded Edge variety. Struck with a different set of dies than the previous two patterns. Attractive for the issue, this piece exhibits fields that appear smooth with some faded red color around the legends. Excluding edge variants, the RAREST variety of this type, with only three examples from these dies appearing in archived auction records.Another mystery from the series, this variety was produced using a different set of letter and number punches, with the spacing of the legends on the Standing Liberty side resulting in the assayer initials appearing closer to the exergual line. On the other side, the date appears without a period to the right of the 6, and the engraving of the huemuls tail (a type of South Andean deer), which supports the Chilean arms, is far less pronounced. While speculative and requiring more research, we suspect that these dies may have been a local replication of the French dies, created so that the mints pre-existing screw press, which is known to have been modified at the time with the intent of creating greater efficiency, and the newly installed Thonnelier press, could be tested simultaneously.</em> From the Oro del Nuevo Mundo Collection.
