Bolivia 1825-PTS JL 4 reales
This specimen was lot 71307 in Stack's Bowers Collectors Choice sale (Costa Mesa, CA, November 2022), where it sold for $528. The catalog description[1] noted, "BOLIVIA. 4 Reales, 1825-PTS JL. Potosi Mint. Ferdinand VII. PCGS AU-50. A lovely example with sharp details and vibrant iridescent color hidden in the lustrous fields. Well-produced and gently handled, this piece is more wholesome than typically encountered. From the Pat Johnson Collection." This is an example of a type struck 1816-25 at Potosi, Bolivia, in the name of Ferdinand VII. Assayer JL is recorded for 1825-32. This is listed as a common type, cheaper than Ferdinand VII four reales from Peru or Mexico, but it is seldom seen. The Potosí mint changed hands several times during 1813-15 between the Argentines (republicans) and Bolivians (royalists). By 1816, the royalists had resumed their firm grip on Upper Peru which they held until 1825. Only the final crushing defeat of Spanish forces outside Lima prompted the local chiefs to declare independence and then only to avoid incorporation into Peru or Argentina.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 13.54 g, 0.896 fine silver.
Catalog reference: Cayón-15771, KM-88; Cal-1110.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1801-1900, 9th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
- 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.
- Harris, Robert P., Pillars & Portraits, San José, CA: Bonanza Press, 1968.
- [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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