Bolivia 1656-P E 8 reales royal
Royals are known of this type from the Potosí mint but all are rare. The regular cob issues are not nearly as nice. The years 1649-52 were a period of reform at the Potosí mint; it was found that the previous mintmasters in office 1625-48 had been debasing the cobs, a crime for which one official paid with his life. This specimen was lot 1197 in Aureo y Calicó sale 232 (Barcelona, March 2011), where it sold for 2,900 € (about US$4,785 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"Felipe IV (1621-1665). 1656. Potosí. E. 8 reales. Redonda. Tipo 'real'. Muy rara. MBC+. (Philip IV, 1621-65, eight reales of 1656, Potosí mint, royal type. very rare, very fine)."
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 27.07 g, 0.931 fine silver, .810 troy oz ASW.
Catalog reference: Cayón-6490, KM R21, Cal-412.
- Cayón, Adolfo, Clemente Cayón and Juan Cayón, Las Monedas Españolas, del Tremis al Euro: del 411 a Nuestros Dias, 2 volumes, Madrid: Cayón-Jano S.L., 2005.
- Calicó, Xavier, Numismática Española: Catálogo General con Precios de Todas las Monedas Españolas Acuñadas desde Los Reyes Católicos Hasta Felipe VI, 1474 a 2020, Barcelona: Aureo & Calicó, 2019.
- Cuhaj, George S., and Thomas Michael, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1601-1700, 6th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2014.
- Menzel, Sewall, Cobs, Pieces of Eight and Treasure Coins, New York: The American Numismatic Society, 2004.
- Paoletti, Emilio, 8 Reales Cobs of Potosí, 2nd Ed., Buenos Aires, 2006.
- [1] Sisó, Teresa, Eduardo Domingo and Lluís Lalana, Selección de 500 Monedas, Medallas y Billetes, Barcelona: Aureo y Calicó Subastas, 2011.
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