Spain 1659-MD G 4 reales
This specimen was lot 72242 in Stack's Bowers Collectors Choice sale (Costa Mesa, CA, November 2022), where it sold for $480. The catalog description[1] noted, "SPAIN. Cob 4 Reales, 1659-MD BI. Madrid Mint. Philip IV. PCGS VF-30. A SCARCE date. This deeply toned 4 Reales piece does not display the mintmark or assayer, but it can be attributed to Madrid with reasonable certainty based on the style of the central shield. The obverse shows the monarch's name 'PHILIP...' and the denomination, and the reverse offers a bold full date. A nice piece with much originality despite the missing detail. From the Pat Johnson Collection. Privately purchased from Freeman Craig." This example lacks any trace of mintmark or assayer. The only other Spanish mint to strike four reales in 1659 was Segovia, which placed the date above the octolobe, rather than to the left as here. The SCWC ascribes assayer BI to this date but this assayer was active 1637-45 and 1649. Cayón lists assayer G and shows a photo of one for catalog number 6165. It is a rare date in any case and the first issue of four reales from Madrid since 1656 and the last until 1662.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 13.73 g, 0.931 fine silver, this specimen 13.72 g.
Catalog reference: Cayón-6165, KM-35.4; Cal-1040.
- 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.
- Cuhaj, George S., and Thomas Michael, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1601-1700, 6th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2014.
- [1]Orsini, Matt, Kyle Ponterio and Jeremy Bostwick, The November 2022 Collectors Choice Ancient & World Coins Auction, Featuring the Pat Johnson Collection, Costa Mesa, CA: Stack's Bowers LLC, 2022.
Link to:
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