1818 Texas Jola Half Real - Large Planchet

Coin Details

Auction Record

$80,500 • AU58 • 01-01-2008 • Heritage Auctions

Description

Cataloged as PCGS #660, this large-planchet variant of the 1818 Texas Jola half real represents a remarkable survival from the earliest period of Texas numismatics, struck in copper on a 19 mm planchet with a plain edge. The Jola tokens were crude copper pieces authorized by Spanish colonial governors for local commerce in the remote Texas settlements, where chronic shortages of official coinage forced authorities to sanction locally produced substitutes. The 1818 date follows the initial 1817 authorization by Governor Manuel Prado at San Fernando de Bexar (present-day San Antonio), and the large planchet variant is distinguished from the small planchet type by its broader diameter. The obverse bears identifying inscriptions while the reverse displays the characteristic markings of these frontier tokens. An auction record of $80,500 in AU58 grade at Heritage Auctions on January 1, 2008, demonstrates the extraordinary value that advanced collectors place on these early Texas pieces, which bridge the gap between Spanish colonial numismatics and the emerging American frontier. The Jola tokens circulated during a period when Texas remained under Spanish (and soon Mexican) sovereignty, predating Texas independence by nearly two decades, and their survival in collectible condition is remarkable given the harsh frontier conditions under which they circulated.