Guatemala 1778-NG P 4 reales
This specimen was lot 71562 in Stack's Bowers Collectors Choice sale (Costa Mesa, CA, November 2022), where it sold for $2,880. The catalog description[1] noted, "GUATEMALA. 4 Reales, 1778-NG. Nueva Guatemala Mint; Assayer Pedro Sanchez de Guzman (P). Charles III. PCGS Genuine--Cleaned, AU Details. This cleaned beauty presents remarkably well-preserved details. The obverse portrait is gorgeously rendered with crisp detail and the reverse crowned arms display each section handsomely. The steely gray toning on the obverse gives way to colorful pink and blue iridescence on the lustrous fields of the reverse. With cleaning marks as unobtrusive as they are here, only a small hit mark below the eye on the portrait distracts from this coin's considerable eye appeal. From the Pat Johnson Collection. Privately purchased from Clyde Hubbard, 1969." In 1776, an earthquake demolished Antigua Guatemala (including the mint) and a new city was built some miles away. To mark the move, the mintmark was changed to "NG" ("Nueva Guatemala", still the capital of Guatemala) on all issues of 1777 and after. Assayer "P" is noted for the years 1759-85. Unlike the other colonial mints, Guatemala portrait four reales are not so rare compared to other denominations. Guatemala issues are notably cruder than other mints.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 13.54 g, 0.903 fine silver.
Catalog reference: Cayón-11795, KM-35.2; Cal-808.
- Michael, Thomas, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1701-1800, 7th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2016.
- 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.
- Robinson, Charles, The Coins of Central America, 1733-1965, San Benito, TX: 1965.
- Stickney, Brian, A Monetary History of Central America, New York: American Numismatic Society, 2017.
- [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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