GALAPAGOS ISLANDS COUNTERMARK ARTICLE AVAILABLE

Legends start in many ways: some are based on provable facts but others have no documentary evidence with only pecuniary motives as the predicate. I believe that is the case with the "RA" countermarks allegedly done on Chatham Island in the Galapagos Archipelago (officially Archipiélago de Colón). In the case of the "Legend of Rogelio" the original, made-up legend is easily disproved. Among other factors there is no primary or even a secondary document that shows that Rogerio Alvarado had authorization from anyone to countermark coins for the Galapagos. And, "absence of evidence" is generally "evidence of absence". Therefore, it is reasonable to conclude that not only the legend but probably all of its offshoots are false.

The 11 page article and an additional 50 odd pages of notes is available on request from daleseppa@gmail.com.

Since no one has ever presented even a single primary document that substantiates the "RA" countermark I feel that is high time that we analyze the evidence, issue a death certificate and move on to other things. That legend has caused some collectors to pay rather high prices for coins with the countermarks alleged to be from the Galapagos Islands. In my opinion if one wishes to purchase an example as a curiosity that is fine as long as the price is not much more than the value of the host coin.

Some of the following has been covered in two articles published in the Numismatics International Bulletin to wit: "AR or RA Monogram Countermarks of the Galapagos Islands.", NI Bulletin, Volume 50, Nos. 11/12 and "RA Countermarks of the Galapagos Islands – Part I - Punch Types and Varieties", NI Bulletin, Volume 52, Nos. 1/2. I shall reiterate parts of those articles with additional material to substantiate my thesis.

The slow death of the legend began when the Krause/Mishler Standard Catalog of World Coins modified its Galapagos Islands listing to read "Without documentation, these pieces must be considered suspect". Eventually the listing was removed entirely from the KM catalogs.

When the "Legend of Rogelio" was completely debunked, some adherents for the legitimacy of the countermarks suggested the possibility that the "RA" countermarks of Rogelio Alvarado were really "AR" countermarks of Arturo Reed: the administrator of the Hacienda/Ingenio El Progreso on Chatham Island (now San Cristóbal) in the Galapagos. Reed was appointed in early 1904 shortly after the murder of Manuel J. Cobos- Villavencencio the original owner of the hacienda and kept that position only a few months. The timeline and various other factors have now completely disproven any possibility that Reed had anything to do with countermarked coins.

To read the complete Heritage lot description, see:
Ecuador: Galapagos Islands. Countermarked coinage, Ecuador 1890 Sucre counterstamped with RA, once believed to be the initials of Rog... (https://coins.ha.com/itm/ecuador/world-coins/ecuador-galapagos-islands-countermarked-coinage-ecuador-1890-sucre-counterstamped-with-ra-once-believed-to-be-the-initials-of/a/332-11605.s)

To read the earlier E-Sylum articles, see:
WILLIAM JAMESON – AN UNLIKELY MINT DIRECTOR (https://www.coinbooks.org/v23/esylum_v23n14a33.html)
THE ELUSIVE NEW ENGLAND COUNTERMARK (https://www.coinbooks.org/v23/esylum_v23n15a31.html)

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