1818 Texas Jola Half Real - Small Planchet

Coin Details

Auction Record

$58,750 • XF45 • 04-23-2014 • Heritage Auctions

Description

Cataloged as PCGS #661, this small-planchet variant of the 1818 Texas Jola half real was struck in copper on a 17 mm diameter flan with a plain edge — 2 mm narrower than the large-planchet version. The Jola tokens served as emergency currency in the remote Spanish colonial settlements of Texas, where the absence of official coinage from Mexico City forced local authorities to authorize crude copper substitutes for everyday commerce. The small planchet variant suggests either a deliberate denomination or value distinction from the large planchet type, or simply the use of whatever copper stock was available at the frontier minting facility. An auction record of $58,750 in XF45 grade at Heritage Auctions on April 23, 2014, confirms the substantial market value collectors place on these early Texas numismatic artifacts. The 1818 date places this piece one year after Governor Manuel Prado's initial authorization of 8,000 Jola tokens at San Fernando de Bexar in 1817, during a period when the Spanish colonial administration in Texas was struggling to maintain economic order in its most remote northern province. These tokens circulated during the turbulent final years of Spanish rule in Texas, predating both Mexican independence (1821) and the establishment of the Republic of Texas (1836), making them among the earliest distinctly Texan numismatic issues.