Bolivia 1768-P VY 4 reales
This specimen was lot 71249 in Stack's Bowers Collectors Choice sale (Costa Mesa, CA, November 2022), where it sold for $360. The catalog description[1] noted, "BOLIVIA. Cob 4 Reales, 1768-P. Potosi Mint; Assayers Jose de Vargas y Flor and Raimundo de Yturriaga (V-Y). Charles III. PCGS EF-40. Crudely struck on an irregular flan, this 4 Reales piece nonetheless offers sharp well-preserved detail. The mintmark and denomination are boldly presented on the obverse, and, while the date is somewhat muddled, it is shown in crisp detail on the reverse. Most of an assayers' mark appears on the obverse, as well as a sizeable portion of the outer legend on the reverse. This deeply toned cob has an undeniable rustic charm. From the Pat Johnson Collection." This type was struck for Charles III 1760-73. Four reales of Charles III are rather scarcer than those of his predecessor Ferdinand VI. Assayer "V" stamped coins for that entire time. The Potosi mint did not start striking milled coinage until 1767 and the manufacture of cobs did not cease until 1773.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 13.54 g, 0.917 fine silver, this specimen 13.39 g.
Catalog reference: Cayón-11726, KM-44; Cal-912.
- Michael, Thomas, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1701-1800, 7th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2016.
- 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.
- Menzel, Sewall, Cobs, Pieces of Eight and Treasure Coins, New York: The American Numismatic Society, 2004.
- [1]Orsini, Matt, Kyle Ponterio and Jeremy Bostwick, The November 2022 Collectors Choice Ancient & World Coins Auction, Featuring the Pat Johnson Collection, Costa Mesa, CA: Stack's Bowers LLC, 2022.
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