Spain 1598-Seg 8 reales
This specimen was lot 404 in Áureo y Calicó sale 345 (Barcelona, March 2020), where it sold for €1,703 (about US$2,248 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"1598. Felipe II. Segovia. 8 reales. Tipo "OMNIVM". Golpes y hojitas en canto. Muy rara. MBC+. (kingdom of Spain, Philip II, 1556-98, eight reales of 1598, Segovia mint, "OMNIVM" on obverse. Nicks and digs on the rim, very rare, choice very fine.)"
The arms of Spain on the obverse bear the escutcheon of Portugal, ruled by Spain 1580-1640. Note the absence of an assayer's initial. This type was struck 1597-98 and is among the first milled coinage of Spain. Milled coinage was invented in Germany in the late fifteenth century and adopted in Spain in the 1590's altho hammered coins continued in production until the reign of Philip V. France adopted milled coinage in the 1640's and England in the 1660's.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 27.47 g, 0.931 fine silver, this specimen 26,56 g.
Catalog reference: Cal-233, Dav-8479, Cayón-4063.
- [1]Sisó, Teresa, Eduard Domingo and Lluís Lalana, Subasta Publica 345: Colección Manuela Etcheverría, Barcelona: Áureo y Calicó, 2020.
- 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.
- Krause, Chester L., and Colin R. Bruce II, Standard Catalog of World Coins: Spain, Portugal and the New World, Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2002.
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