Chile 1790-So 1/4 real
This scarce and tiny coin was struck in Santiago, Chile, 1790-91. This mint switched to the conventional "lions and castles" type in 1796. Lima is also recorded as striking portrait 1/4 reales 1792-95 but the bust is of Charles IV, not Charles III as depicted here. The other colonial mints struck "lions and castles" 1/4 reales only. The catalog value is much too low for this type, which appears in auctions once a year or so. The second specimen was lot 51364 in Stack's Bowers NYINC sale (New York, January 2024), where it sold for $1,500. The catalog description[1] noted, "CHILE. 1/4 Real, 1790-So. Santiago Mint. Charles IV. NGC MS-63. Bust of Charles III. An impressively crisp example of Chile's short-lived portrait 1/4 Real issuance. Every minute detail is clear and well-presented, affected by only the lightest of contact and adjustment marks on the obverse. Light gray tone and full mint luster make this Choice survivor hard to resist. From the EMO Collection. Ex: Whittier Collection."
Recorded mintage: 322,000.
Specification: 0.84 g, 0.896 fine silver, .024 troy oz ASW.
Catalog reference: Cayón-13109, EMO-851.1 (Plate coin); KM-43; Cal-181.
- 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 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, January 2024 NYINC Auction, featuring the Emilio M Ortiz Collection and a Symphony of Russian Rarities, the Rothschild-Piatigorsky Collection, Costa Mesa, CA: Stack's Bowers Galleries, Inc., 2023.
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