In 1963, the Dominican Republic (DR) commemorated the centennial of the restoration of the Republic with a series of circulating commemorative coins: One Centavo, Five, Ten and Twenty-Five Centavos, Half Peso and One Peso. Pictured here is the One Peso coin. The Republic's independence was reclaimed from Spain as a result of a revolt/war against it between 1863 and 1865.
The DR had first become an independent Republic in 1844 when it revolted against Haitian President Jean-Pierre Boyer and Haiti's occupation. It remained independent until 1861, when it was reclaimed by Spain. Spain's claim led to a revolt which resulted in Spain annulling its annexation in 1863-64 - the Republic was restored!
The coin features the Coat of Arms of the DR on its obverse and a profile portrait of a female Taino figure symbolic of
Liberty on its reverse; she wears a feathered headdress with "LIBERTAD" on its band. . The Taino were the native inhabitants of the island Columbus named Hispaniola ("Little Spain") when he landed there in December 1492. He claimed the island in the name of Spain.
Over its history, the island has been a colony of Spain, of France, split between Spain and France, a single independent country and a pair of independent countries. Today, the western portion of the island is Haiti and the eastern portion is the Dominican Republic.
The 1963 coin's designs are updated versions of those originally used on the DR Peso of 1897. The 1897 designs were also adapted for a Peso coin issued in 1939. The 1939 coin incorporated five stars on its reverse (after the denomination "UN PESO") to represent Hispaniola's historical five chiefdoms. At the time of Columbus, the Taino had divided their island into five chiefdoms that were each under the rule of a chief or cacique. The five chiefdoms were: Jaragua, Marien, Maguana, Magua and Higuey.
The 1963 coin replaced the five stars with two, each representing one of the two countries that now occupy Hispaniola: Dominican Republic and Haiti.
The 1963, crown-sized coin is 0.650 fine silver. Its designs were originally the work of Thomas H. Paget of
The Royal Mint in London. Derek C Gorringe of
The Royal Mint handled the modern adaptations.
1963 Dominican Republic Restoration One Peso
Posted 01/05/2022 08:04 am
