Guatemala 1768-G P 8 reales
The first specimen was lot 1051 in Goldberg sale 46 (Beverly Hills, May 2008), where it sold for $11,000. The catalog description[1] noted,
"Guatemala. 8 Reales, 1768 G-P (Nueva Guatemala). Charles III, 1759-1788. Pillar coinage. Crowned Bourbon arms. Reverse: Crowned globes flanked by crowned and bannered pillars, over water. Bold, exceptionally even strike, with crisp devices on reflective fields. A few faint adjustment marks on reverse. Very lightly toned. Certainly among the finest Pillar coins of Guatemala. NGC graded MS-64. Nueva Guatemala grew up around an important ancient Mayan city named Kaminaljuyu. This ancient city has archaeological remains dating back 9,000 years, and was one of the most important pre-Colombian cities of the New World. There were several hundred ancient temple mounds, but unfortunately, many were destroyed as the modern city expanded. Today, the remaining archaeological sites are protected."
While Guatemala pillar dollars are scarce compared to the issues of Mexico City or Potosi, they are available for a price. The four and eight reales from this mint are more common than the smaller denominations.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 27.07 g, 0.917 fine silver, .798 troy oz ASW, decorated edge; this specimen 27.04 grams.
Catalog reference: Cayón-11954, Eliz-20; WR-4; KM-27.1.
- 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.
- Harris, Robert P., Pillars & Portraits, San José, CA: Bonanza Press, 1968.
- [1]Goldberg, Ira, and Larry Goldberg, Goldberg Sale 46: the Millenia Collection, Beverly Hills, CA: Ira and Larry Goldberg Auctioneers, 2008.
- 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.
- 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.
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