1/5 Libra Peru Gold

1962, Peru. Gold 1/5 Libra (1/5 Pound) Coin. (1.59gm!) Only 5,431 pcs.

Mint Year: 1862 Mint Place: Lima Mintage: 5,431 pcs. Denomination: Pound (One Libra) Reference: Friedberg 73, KM-207. Condition: Minor edge marks (scratches), otherwise a nice lustre XF-AU! Material: Gold (.917) Diameter: 15mm Weight: 1.59gm

Obverse: Bust of a native Peruvian, wearing earrings and feathered headband right. Legend: VERDAD I JUSTICIA . 1/5 DE LIBRA . Reverse: Shining sun above shield with coat-of-arms of the Republic of Peru. All within sprays . Date (1962) below. Legend: . REPUBLICA PERUANA LIMA Z . B . R .

At your attention a beautiful Peruvian gold coin, issued in the trade standard (weight and gold purity) of a British gold pound. A nice and handsome specimen with a low mintage of only 6,203 pieces, struck at the Lima mint in Peru.

In the early 19th century, while most of South America was swept by wars of independence, Peru remained a royalist stronghold. As the elite hesitated between emancipation and loyalty to the Spanish Monarchy, independence was achieved only after the military campaigns of José de San Martín and Simón Bolívar. During the early years of the Republic, endemic struggles for power between military leaders caused political instability.National identity was forged during this period, as Bolivarian projects for a Latin American Confederation foundered and a union with Bolivia proved ephemeral. Between the 1840s and 1860s, Peru enjoyed a period of stability under the presidency of Ramón Castilla through increased state revenues from guano exports. However, by the 1870s, these resources had been squandered, the country was heavily indebted, and political in-fighting was again on the rise.