Bolivia 1742-P P 8 reales
The first specimen was lot 864 in Sedwick sale 34 (Winter Park, FL, November 2023), where it sold for $420. The catalog description[1] noted, "Potosí, Bolivia, cob 8 reales, 1742 P. Good full pillars-and-waves, lightly corroded cross, with two bold dates and assayers, XF details and nicely toned." The second specimen was lot 40073 in Stack's Bowers Summer 2026 Global Showcase Auction (Pittsburgh, August 2026), where it sold for $17,080. The catalog description[2] noted, "BOLIVIA. "Royal" Presentation Cob 8 Reales, 1742-P P. Potosi Mint. Philip V. NGC EF Details--Holed. KM-31A; Cal-1513; Lazaro-296 (same obverse die). A stunning and VERY RARE presentation striking. Perfectly round with all central marks displayed clearly, as expected of a Royal. Holed at 12 o'clock, as is almost ubiquitous for these issues, but otherwise wonderful surface quality accented by an elegant cabinet tone." The Potosí mint was the most prolific issuer of silver during the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries, nearly all of it cobs such as this. The other Latin American mints placed the date near the edge where it rarely struck up, whereas Potosi issues have the date smack in the middle, ensuring that the date would be legible even if the rest of the design was smeared. As a result, Bolivian cobs can be collected by date, unlike the other mints (Mexico, Lima, Guatemala). This type was struck 1729-47 and assayers "C" and "P" are recorded for 1742. The Potosí mint was the last to abandon the manufacture of cobs, in 1773.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 27.07 g, 0.917 fine silver, the first specimen 25.08 g, the second specimen 26.81 g.
Catalog reference: Cayón-9438, S-P48; KM-31a; Cal-1581.
- 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.
- Menzel, Sewall, Cobs, Pieces of Eight and Treasure Coins, New York: The American Numismatic Society, 2004.
- Michael, Thomas, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1701-1800, 7th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2016.
- Paoletti, Emilio, 8 Reales Cobs of Potosí, 2nd Ed., Buenos Aires, 2006.
- [1]Sedwick, Daniel Frank, Augi Garcia, Cori Sedwick Downing and Connor Falk, Treasure Auction 34, World, U.S Coins and Paper Money, Winter Park, FL: Daniel Frank Sedwick LLC, 2023.
- [2]Orsini, Matt, Kyle Ponterio and Jeremy Bostwick, Summer 2026 Global Showcase Auction, Costa Mesa, CA: Stack's Bowers LLC, 2026.
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