Bolivia 1766-P V Y 8 reales
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 1286 in Aureo y Calicó sale 232 (Barcelona, March 2011), where it sold for 240 euros (about US$396 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"Carlos III (1759-1788). 1766. Potosí. V. 8 reales. Triple fecha. MBC. (Charles III, 1759-88, eight reales of 1766, Potosí mint, three dates, very fine)."
The year 1767 marked the initiation of milled coinage at Potosi, the last mint to do so, but cobs continued to be produced until 1773.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 27.07 g, 0.917 fine silver, .798 troy oz ASW.
Catalog reference: Cayón-11945, KM 45, Cal-953.
- 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.
- Harris, Robert P., Pillars & Portraits, San José, CA: Bonanza Press, 1968.
- Michael, Thomas, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1701-1800, 7th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2016.
- [1] Sisó, Teresa, Eduardo Domingo and Lluís Lalana, Selección de 500 Monedas, Medallas y Billetes, Barcelona: Aureo y Calicó Subastas, 2011.
Link to: