Bolivia 1747-P q 8 reales KM-31a
This specimen was lot 618 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, 1747q. Chunky flan with part of edge crude (as made), full pillars-and-waves, full but off-center cross, two dates, one bold assayer and mintmark, AXF with some dark encrustation and light scratches." The Spanish colony of Upper Peru produced hammered cob coinage at the Potosí mint from 1573 to 1773, with a major debasement scandal and subsequent reform occurring in 1649-1652. The royal or presentation issues are very rare and highly sought after, while the regular strikes vary in price according to the visibility of the date, mint, and assayer initials. Eight real cobs were struck for the deceased Philip V (shown here) and his successor Ferdinand VI in 1747, with the latter being slightly more common. The same thing occurred at the Mexico mint.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 27.07 g, 0.917 fine silver, this specimen 26.98 grams.
Catalog reference: S-P50; KM-31a; Cal-1590, Cayón-9466a.
- 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.
- Michael, Thomas, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1701-1800, 7th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2016.
- 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.
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