Chile 1773-So DA 8 reales
This specimen was lot 30293 in Heritage sale 3081 (New York, January 2020), where it sold for $6,600. The catalog description[1] noted, "Chile, Charles III 8 Reales 1773 So-DA VF25 PCGS, Santiago mint. The extremely rare first year of issue for these bust type 8 Reales, decreed in Chile for 1772 but not produced until the following year. Only two specimens have been graded by NGC or PCGS, both VF; the supposed mintage for 1773 was 27,000 pieces but the vast majority appear to have been melted down. As such, with only a handful known, the majority of Latin American cabinets will lack an example. The present offering is evenly worn yet with a great deal of silvery luster, the peripheries toned to a light gold. An exceptional rarity sure to encourage spirited bidding." This specimen was offered again as lot 969 in Sedwick Treasure Auction 39 (Winter Park, FL, May 2026), where it sold for $5,700. Despite what seems to be a fairly substantial recorded mintage and nearly continuous production during 1773-89, Santiago portrait eight reales of Charles III are almost as scarce as pillar dollars from that mint. This date is listed as rare even for this scarce type.
Recorded mintage: 27,000, a rare date.
Specification: 27.07 g, 0.903 fine silver, .780 troy oz ASW.
Catalog reference: Cayón-12016, KM 31.
- 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.
- Elizondo, Carlos A., Eight Reales and Pesos of the New World, San Antonio, TX: 1968.
- Raymond, Wayte, The Silver Dollars of North and South America, 2nd Ed., Racine, WI: Whitman Publishing, 1964.
- 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.
- [1]Bierrenbach, Cristiano, Warren Tucker and Sam Spiegel, Heritage World and Ancient Coins Auction 3081, featuring the Caranett Collection, Dallas, TX: Heritage Auction Galleries, 2019.
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