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Until recently, there were known only three varieties of the 1833 1
Real coin: Variety A, Variety B, and a third coin mentioned by Carrión
Letort in his book Las monedas del Ecuador (suspected to be a falsification).
However, 9/99 a fourth variety was discovered by Rony Almeida and described/announced
to the public in the Ebay auction. (The present description is based largely
on Mr. Almeida's original description, expanded through personal consultation
with him.) In 8/2001 a suspected fifth variety was identified by Stephen
Grimsley and confirmed by Rony Almeida. The two new varieties are described
below; I have also included a description of the other three previously-known
varieties of this coin, in order to aid in distinguishing them from the
new varieties and as general information for the Ecuadorian collecting
community (although these varieties are known within the numismatic community,
they are not mentioned in any of the Ecuadorian reference books, making
them unknown to many if not most collectors).
It seems that Mr. Almeida's newly discovered variety of this coin, due to its extreme rarity as well as its numerous "errors", must have been a trial strike made before the more common "variety A" and "variety B" strikes. As a result, it would seem more logical to consider it the new "variety A," and consider the previously-called "variety A" and "variety B" to now be "variety B" and "variety C," respectively.
The second new variety is very similar to the former Variety A in many ways but is distinguished from it primarily by the reverse, especially the base of the fasces, where the center seems to have split into three branches (instead of a central part with a ball on each side, as in the other varieties). For listing purposes, I am inserting this variety between variety pichón and the former Variety A, since it seems to resemble these two varieties the most.
To avoid confusion with the changes in letter, and to eliminate inconsistencies
in the "nicknames" of the coins (currently three bear nicknames and two
don't), I am also proposing prose names for the other varieties based on
birds that they remind me of.
| Old Letter/Name | New Name |
| Variety (eng. "Pigeon Condor")(esp. "Cóndor Pichón") | Variety A (eng. "Pigeon Condor")(esp. "Cóndor Pichón") |
| (variety previously unknown) | Variety B subvariety (eng. "Branches")(esp. "Ramas") |
| Variety A | Variety B (eng. "Ostrich")(esp. "Avestruz") |
| Variety B | Variety C (eng. "Cardinal)(esp. "Cardenal") |
| (Variety by Carrión Letort, nicknamed "Flamingo") | Unlettered variety ("Flamingo") |
Comparison Chart of Features of the Five Known Varieties of the 1833 1 Real
Obverse Features
| variety A
("Cóndor Pichón") |
variety B subvariety ("Ramas") | variety B ("Avestruz") | variety C ("Cardenal") | variety "Flamingo" | |
| rays | all come from different points on the sun | rays #2-3 & #30-31 come from the same point on the sun | rays #2-3 & #30-31 come from the same point on the sun | all come from different points on the sun | all come from different points on the sun |
| position of rays with regard to left bird | rays stop before reaching bird, leaving some space | rays extend almost until bird's head | rays extend almost until bird's head | rays extend almost until bird's head | bird's head inside rays |
| shape of "1" in "1 R" | head of the 1 with a cut going toward the right | flattened at the top, ending in point | flattened at the top, ending in point | not flattened at top | (more or less like variety C) |
| approximate inclination of bird | 75% (inclined) | 90% (very vertical) | 90% (very vertical) | 75% (inclined) | 5% (very horizontal) |
| wing position | raised in flight | lowered | lowered | lowered | lowered |
| beak position | open | closed | closed | closed | closed |
| glob at base of sun | curved, like a "J" | upon close inspection, actually two dots below sun, not physically connected | According to Rony Almeida, not present. I have a specimen which appears to possibly have two dots below the sun (not physically connected). | not present | almost straight, looks like a worm on a fishing line |
| mountains | little overlap | little overlap | little overlap | little overlap | very overlapping |
Reverse Features
| variety A
("Cóndor Pichón") |
variety B subvariety ("Ramas") | variety B ("Avestruz") | variety C ("Cardenal") | variety "Flamingo" | |
| position of the bow | top resting, bottom appears to be shooting the arrow | bow at rest | bow at rest | bow at rest | bow at rest |
| center of the base | narrow center line with a ball on each side | branching with medium branches | medium center line with a ball on each side | medium center line with a ball on each side | branching with thin elongated branches |
Obverse scans highlighting the differences between the four varieties
| compare the number "1" | compare the formation & extension of the rays | compare the blob below the base of the sun | compare the appearance of the left bird | |
| variety A
("Cóndor Pichón") |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| variety B subvariety ("Ramas") |  |
 |
 |
 |
| variety B ("Avestruz") |  |
 |
 |
 |
| variety C ("Cardenal") |  |
 |
 |
 |
| variety "Flamingo" |  |
 |
 |
 |
| Full-size scans of both sides of all four varieties | |
| variety A
("Cóndor Pichón") |
 |
| variety B subvariety ("Ramas") |   |
| variety B ("Avestruz") |  |
| variety C ("Cardenal") |  |
| variety "Flamingo" |  |
The pichón variety was originally described on Sept. 24, 1999, based on one coin and was supposed to be unique. However, when informed of its existence, I did a search through old Ebay auction records and was able to find an image of another coin matching this variety that had been sold several weeks earlier in Ebay, in an auction ending Sept. 12. The other coin at the time went unrecognized as being a new variety and sold for $46.18; the seller included a scan of the coin in the auction posting but the scan was too dark to make out the coin, which is undoubtably why it didn't attract any attention. Only when I took the time to download the image and brighten it did the coin's true variety become visible.
The second specimen of this coin is remarkably similar to the first one, and was undoubtably produced from the same die. There are, however, several differences between the two coins, such as the flaw at 10:00 on the obverse: Mr. Almeida's coin has a wider opening than the other coin, as shown in the scan. There is also a difference in the appearance of the "J" below the sun on the second coin: it is more separated from the sun's ray and even has an additional prolongation that must correspond to a problem of lamination of the planchet in the moment of coining.
The discovery of the existence of the second specimen of this coin demonstrates that Mr. Almeida's coin was not "unique", but at the same time helps to legitimize the new variety he discovered. Since at present there are only two specimens known, the variety continues to be considered extremely rare.
Click
Here to View the Ebay Records for the Original Coin Described by Almeida--in
Ebay (if still available)
Click Here to View the Ebay Records for
the Original Coin Described by Almeida--local copy on my website
Click
Here to View the Ebay Records for the Second Specimen Discovered--in Ebay
(if still available)
Click Here to View the Ebay Records for
the Second Specimen Discovered--local copy on my website
The variety "ramas" of variety B in the possession of Stephen Grimsley
at this moment is the only known specimen. However, it is likely that there
are other specimens that have not yet come to light.
In his book, Carrión Letort claims that his variety of the 1833
1 Real coin can be distinguished, among other characteristics, by "the
bases of the letters are not straight but rather gothic". However, the
letters of my 1 Real coins from the other varieties are also gothic. According
to Rony Almeida, "All the legends on our republican coins have that characteristic
trait that makes them look as if they had gothic lettering, but it isn't
like that. This type of gothic appearance is appreciated more in coins
of optimum appearance and disappears with the wear on the coin." (personal
consultation, 7/oct./99) It would appear that in reality, the presence
or absence of "gothic lettering" is not a useful diagnostic feature
for distinguishing the 1 Real varieties.
For those who want more photos of examples of the different varieties
in order to clear up the distinctions or to compare with their own coins,
I am including below additional scans of various 1833 1 Real coins in my
collection or that I have downloaded from the Internet. (The scan of the
Cóndor Pichón coin is the brightened version of the original
scan in Ebay from the 9/sept. sale, which is the only other example known
to exist.)
| Variety A "cóndor pichón" |
| Original scan from 12/sept. auction |
 |
| Brightened scan from 12/sept. auction |
 |
| Variety B "avestruz" |
| (specimen from my personal collection; identification confirmed by Rony Almeida) |
  |
| Variety C "cardenal" |
| (specimen from my personal collection; identification confirmed by Rony Almeida) |
  |
| (specimen sold by Rony Almeida in Ebay 10/99) |
 |
See also the following pages for related listings:
View/report
errors in standard catalogs or other reference works
View/confirm
reported but unconfirmed varieties or issues
View/report
newly discovered varieties or new issues
Help
estimate Ecuadorian rare coin populations: report your rare or unique coins
Do you believe you have a "Pigeon Condor", a "Ramas" or a "Flamingo" in your collection? Do you have a superb example of any of the other varieties whose scan I could include on my webpage? If so, use the form below or click on the "email me at" link at the bottom of the page. Thanks!