Spain 1639-MD BI 4 escudos
This specimen was lot 185 in Áureo y Calicó sale 347 (Barcelona, March 2020), where it sold for €2,500 (about US$3,299 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"1639. Felipe IV. MD (Madrid). BI. 4 escudos. No se conoce otra moneda de este valor con las siglas BI del ensayador Juan Bautista de Barniches, que también firma con la inicial B. Extraordinariamente rara. ¿Única conocida? MBC. (kingdom of Spain, Philip IV, 1621-65, four escudos of 1639, Madrid mint. We know of no other coin of this denomination with these assayer's initials for Juan Bautista de Barniches, who also signed his coins with a B. Extremely rare, perhaps unique. Very fine.)"
This type is listed in the SCWC for 1629-32, 1636-38, 1641-46, 1651, 1655, 1660, 1664-65. The 1639 is an unlisted date. Cayón lists this date with assayer V.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 13.54 grams, 0.917 fine gold, this specimen 13,43 g.
Catalog reference: Fr-202, KM 56.1 (unlisted date), AC. 1851, Tauler unlisted, Cayón-unlisted.
- Cuhaj, George S., and Thomas Michael, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1601-1700, 6th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2014.
- 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.
- 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.
- [1]Sisó, Teresa, Eduard Domingo and Lluís Lalana, Subasta Publica 347: Seleccion de 500 Monedas, Medallas y Billetes, Barcelona: Áureo y Calicó, 2020.
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