Spain 1757-M JB 1/2 escudo
The specimen shown was lot 1247 in Aureo y Calicó sale 232 (Barcelona, March 2011), where it sold for 148 euros (about US$244 including buyer's fee). The catalog description[1] noted,
"Fernando VI (1746-1759). 1757. Madrid. JB. 1/2 escudo. MBC-/MBC. (Ferdinand VI, 1746-59, half escudo of 1757, Madrid mint, very fine.)
This type was struck in Madrid 1748-59 (KM 378) and Seville 1747-59 (KM 374) and is not especially rare tho choice specimens are always in demand. Half escudos were struck in metropolitan Spain 1738-97 in considerable numbers and are quite a bit more common than their silver equals, the eight reales. This is opposite from Latin America, where silver pesos were minted in vast quantities but half escudos would not be minted until the reign of Ferdinand VII. Assayer JB is listed for 1747-59.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 1.69 g, 0.917 fine gold, .049 troy oz AGW.
Catalog reference: Cayón-10681, KM 378, Cal-255.
- 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.
- [1]Sisó, Teresa, Eduardo Domingo and Lluís Lalana, Selección de 500 Monedas, Medallas y Billetes, Barcelona: Aureo y Calicó Subastas, 2011.
- 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.
- Michael, Thomas, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1701-1800, 7th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2016.
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