Mexico 1730-Mo F 1/2 real
The first specimen was lot 532 in Sedwick Treasure Auction 28 (Winter Park, FL, November 2020), where it sold for $1,440. The catalog description[1] noted, "Mexico City, Mexico, cob 1/2 real Royal (galano), 1730F, very rare, ex-Rudman. Broad flan with typical full details in medal alignment (in fact, the design so broad as to allow for the abbreviation HISPANI instead of the usual HISP on reverse), VF+ with usual hole at top (worn from wear), contrasting toning on fields, first specimen of this assayer we have ever heard of. Pedigreed to the Isaac Rudman numismatic cabinet." This specimen is a silver cob half real struck at Mexico City several years before the conversion to milled coinage. Specimens with clear dates are unusual. This type is separated from KM 24, struck 1701-28, by its lower fineness; the earlier issues were 0.931 fine silver. Cayón lists only assayers D, G. The second specimen was lot 72392 in Stack's Bowers Collectors Choice sale (Costa Mesa, CA, October 2025), where it did not sell. The catalog description[2] noted, "MEXICO. Cob 1/2 Real, 1730-Mo. Mexico City Mint. Philip V. PCGS VG-8. From the Richard August Collection."
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 1.69 g, 0.917 fine silver, the first specimen 1.60 grams, the second specimen 1.50 g.
Catalog reference: S-M26; KM-R24a (unlisted date); Cal-unl (Type 51), Cayón-unlisted. The second specimen is KM-24a; Cal-Type-52.
- 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.
- Michael, Thomas, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1701-1800, 7th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2016.
- Menzel, Sewall, Cobs, Pieces of Eight and Treasure Coins, New York: The American Numismatic Society, 2004.
- [1]Sedwick, Daniel Frank, Augi Garcia and Cori Sedwick Downing, Treasure Auction 28, featuring the Dr. Peter Jones and John O'Brien collections, Winter Park, FL: Daniel Frank Sedwick LLC, 2020.
- [2]Orsini, Matt, Kyle Ponterio and Jeremy Bostwick, October 2025 World Collectors Choice Online Auction, featuring the Kirk Menczer Collection of Republican Decimal Minors and the Richard August Collection, Costa Mesa, CA: Stack's Bowers Galleries, Inc., 2025.
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