Bolivia 1681-P V 8 reales
The first specimen was lot 602 in Sedwick Treasure Auction 28 (Winter Park, FL, November 2020), where it sold for $264. The catalog description[1] noted, "Potosí, Bolivia, cob 8 reales, 1681V. Bold full pillars-and-waves, off-center cross with king's ordinal II in legend, two dates and mintmarks, nicely toned AVF with hairline edge-split." The second specimen was lot 53784 in Stack's Bowers ANA sale (Pittsburgh, PA, August 2023), where it sold for $630. The catalog description[2] noted, "BOLIVIA. Cob 8 Reales, 1681-P V. Potosi Mint. Charles II. NGC AU-53." 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. Assayer V is noted for 1679-84.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 27.07 g, 0.931 fine silver, the first specimen 27.07 grams, the second specimen 27.63 g.
Catalog reference: S-P39; KM-26; Cal-719, Cayón-7588.
- 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 Juan Carlos I, 1474 a 2001, Barcelona: Aureo & Calicó, 2008.
- 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]Sedwick, Daniel Frank, Augi Garcia and Cori Sedwick Downing, Treasure Auction 28, featuring the Dr. Peter Jones and John O'Brien collections, Winter Park, FL: Daniel Frank Sedwick LLC, 2020.
- [2]Orsini, Matt, Kyle Ponterio and Jeremy Bostwick, August 2023 Global Showcase Auction, World & Ancient Coins, Costa Mesa, CA: Stack's Bowers Galleries, Inc., 2023.
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