Chile 1760-So J 1/2 real
This specimen was lot 41109 in Stack's Bowers ANA sale (Oklahoma City, OK, August 2025), where it sold for $2,880. The catalog description[1] noted, "CHILE. 1/2 Real, 1760-So J. Santiago Mint. Charles III. PCGS Genuine--Holed, Good Details. The sheer rarity of any Santiago "Pillar" coinage cannot be over-emphasized, but this little minor places beyond the pale; it is the only known 1/2 Real date to bear this design, and one of only a small number of reported survivors (Yonaka estimates 6 known examples). An EXCEEDINGLY RARE piece of legendary importance, and according to our research only the second example to be offered in auction over the last 25 years. From the Richard August Collection. Whittier Collection (Heritage - 6/2006) Lot #16402." This is the first pillar coin of the Santiago mint that we have posted that wasn't an eight reales.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 1.69 g, 0.917 fine silver.
Catalog reference: Cayón-11032, KM-15 (Rare); Yonaka-S05-60 (this coin); Cal-276.
- 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.
- Gilboy, Frank F., The Milled Columnarios of Central and South America: Spanish American Pillar Coinage, 1732 to 1772, Regina, Saskatchewan: Prairie Wind Publishing, 1999.
- Yonaka, Brad, A Variety Guide to the Pillar Coinage of the Guatemala, Bogota, Lima, Potosi, and Santiago Mints, 1752-1771, Long Beach, CA: Agorocu Consulting, 2018.
- [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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