Bolivia 1688-P VR 2 reales
This specimen was lot 73469 in Stack's Bowers Collectors Choice sale (Costa Mesa, CA, October 2025), where it sold for $384. The catalog description[1] noted, "BOLIVIA. Cob 2 Reales, 1688-P VR. Potosi Mint. Charles II. PCGS AU-50. Fairly well struck and attractively toned, this wholesome specimen offers a level of quality that is SCARCELY encountered and is tied with just one other for the top spot in the PCGS census. From the Richard August Collection." This type was struck 1667-1701 for Charles II. It superseded the shield/cross type which was discredited in the debasement scandal of the 1630's and 1640's. Assayer de Villar stamped coins with a "V" 1679-84 and a "VR" 1684-97.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 6.77 g, 0.931 fine silver, this specimen 5.75 g.
Catalog reference: Cayón-7380, KM-24; Cal-421.
- 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.
- [1]Orsini, Matt, Kyle Ponterio and Jeremy Bostwick, October 2025 World Collectors Choice Online Auction, featuring the Kirk Menczer Collection of Republican Decimal Minors and the Richard August Collection, Costa Mesa, CA: Stack's Bowers Galleries, Inc., 2025.
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