Spain (1646-64)-MD A 8 escudos
This specimen was lot 31695 in Heritage sale 3064 (Chicago, April 2018), where it sold for $7,800. The catalog description[1] noted, "Philip IV gold Cob 8 Escudos ND (1646-64) MD-A MS61 NGC, Madrid mint. Rare quality for this early cob issue, with the flan being impressively broad and round, while the surfaces retain soft golden luster in the recesses. Highly desirable as one of only a few 8 escudos from Philip IV that we have ever handled." This Spanish type is recorded for 1631-63 with all dates noted as rare. The type is further subdivided into KM 136.1 (denomination written as 'VIII') and KM 136.2 (denomination written as '8'). Unfortunately, not only is the date not present but neither is the denomination. We would turn our nose up at such a defective coin were it not the first eight escudo cob we have encountered from the Madrid mint. Contemporary issues from Segovia were milled while Seville's products were cobs.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 27.47 g, 0.917 fine gold, this specimen 32 mm diameter, 26.91 g.
Catalog reference: KM 136, Fr-199, Onza-43 (Illegible Date).
- [1]Bierrenbach, Cristiano, Warren Tucker and David Michaels, Heritage Signature Auction 3040, featuring the Santa Maria, the Alan Dean and the Valley View Life Collections, Dallas, TX: Heritage Auction Galleries, 2015.
- Cayón, Adolfo, Clemente Cayón and Juan Cayón, Las Monedas Españolas, del Tremis al Euro: del 411 a Nuestros Dias, vol. 1, 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.
- Cuhaj, George S., and Thomas Michael, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1601-1700, 6th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2014.
- Friedberg, Arthur L. and Ira S. Friedberg, Gold Coins of the World, From Ancient Times to the Present, 9th ed., Clifton, NJ: Coin and Currency Institute, 2017.
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