Bolivia 1778-PTS PR escudo
This specimen was lot 41055 in Stack's Bowers ANA sale (Oklahoma City, OK, August 2025), where it sold for $2,880. The catalog description[1] noted, "BOLIVIA. Escudo, 1778-PTS PR. Potosi Mint. Charles III. PCGS VF-35. EXTREMELY RARE, with only one other example appearing in our searches of auction records over the past 25 years. Well-spent, with evident wear over the portrait, but exhibiting no major surfaces issues. From the Richard August Collection. Ex: Jim Shipley Collection. Ex: Colonial Coins (sold 1970)." This type was minted 1778-87 and is rare, tho less so than the two and four escudos. The assayer PR appears for 1776-95. In 1785, the alloy was debased from 0.901 to 0.875 fine gold.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 3.38 g, 0.901 fine gold, 19 mm diameter.
Catalog reference: Cayón-12331, Fr-5; KM-56; Cal-1436.
- Friedberg, Arthur L. and Ira S. Friedberg, Gold Coins of the World, From Ancient Times to the Present, 9th ed., Clifton, NJ: Coin and Currency Institute, 2017.
- Cayón, Adolfo, Clemente Cayón and Juan Cayón, Las Monedas Españolas, del Tremis al Euro: del 411 a Nuestros Dias, vol. 1, 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.
- Michael, Thomas, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1701-1800, 7th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2016.
- [1]Orsini, Matt, Kyle Ponterio and Jeremy Bostwick, August 2025 Global Showcase Auction, World & Ancient Coins, featuring The Richard August Collection and the Richard Margolis Collection, Costa Mesa, CA: Stack's Bowers Galleries, Inc., 2025.
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