Mexico (1542-55)-Mo L 4 reales
The first coin was lot 9162 in Ponterio sale 150 (Los Angeles, August 2009), where it sold for $718.75. The catalog description[1] noted, "MEXICO. Carlos and Johanna, Late Series. 4 Reales Assayer L (M-L), ND (154?-1552 or 1553). Well struck on a round planchet with full legends on both sides. Gold and grey toning. EXTREMELY FINE." The second specimen was lot 51284 in Stack's Bowers ANA sale (Pittsburgh, PA, August 2023), where it sold for $1,680. The catalog description[2] noted, "MEXICO. Cob 4 Reales, ND (1548-56)-M L. Mexico City Mint. Carlos & Johanna. PCGS AU-58. A coin of exceptional beauty and merit, this tremendous representative of Carlos and Johanna coinage delivers a full and exacting strike, with a complete and problem free flan present. The surfaces are softly argent and lustrous, with scarcely a trace of handling across the beautiful flan. A piece that provides a condition that is seldom seem, and one that is certain to capture the attention of any specialist in the Carlos and Johanna coinage." The "Carlos and Johanna" coinage of 1536-55 is complicated and difficult to disentangle as records are sparse and the coins are not dated. Ponterio[1] gives details of the latest research. The early series of 1536-41 is rare in all denominations.
Recorded mintage: Unknown.
Specification: 13.53 g, 0.931 fine silver, .399 troy oz ASW.
Catalog reference: KM 18; Nesmith-86; Cal-type-63#84, Cayón-3105.
- Krause, Chester L., and Colin R. Bruce II, Standard Catalog of World Coins: Spain, Portugal and the New World, Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2002.
- 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.
- [1]Ponterio, Richard, and Kent Ponterio, Ponterio sale 150: The 2009 Los Angeles ANA Auction, Irvine, CA: Bowers and Merena, 2009.
- [2]Orsini, Matt, Kyle Ponterio and Jeremy Bostwick, August 2023 Global Showcase Auction, World & Ancient Coins, Costa Mesa, CA: Stack's Bowers Galleries, Inc., 2023.
Link to:
- c.1538 ½ real
- c.1536 2 reales
- c.1536 3 reales
- c.1542 ½ real
- c.1550 1 real
- c.1538 4 reales
- c.1541 4 reales
- (1542-55)-Mo G 4 reales
- (1542-55)-Mo O 4 reales
- (1542-57)-Mo S 4 reales
- (1542-57)-L M 4 reales
- (1542-57) 4 reales
- c.1543 4 reales
- 1682 4 reales
- return to Mexican hammered and cob coinage, 1536-1734