Guatemala 1767-G P 8 reales

Heritage sale 3038, lot 35260

This specimen was lot 35260 in Heritage sale 3038 (Dallas, January 2015), where it sold for $517. The catalog description^[2] noted, "Charles III Pillar 8 Reales 1767 G-P About Very Fine, Guatemala mint. Perhaps Very Fine for wear, with heavy adjustment marks on either side and two pin scratches to the left of the obverse. A wholesome and undamaged specimen of this much scarcer date, quite desirable as such. From The Santa Maria Collection." Unlike the other colonial mints, Guatemala seems to have issued more four reales than any other denomination. Gilboy marks the half, one and two reales as "rare" and the eight reales as "scarce" to "normal." None are marked as common. Guatemala issues are notably cruder than other mints as evidenced by the filled letters. In 1741, the Mexico City mint revised the shield side of the design to allow the crown to interrupt the legend; this was never done in Guatemala.

Mexican numismatists hotly debate which side of the coin constitutes the obverse. Gilboy^[1] depicts the shield side as the obverse as that side bears the king's name. However, auction catalogs and dealer listings more frequently use the pillars and globes side as the obverse, as that side bears the date.

Recorded mintage: unknown.

Specifications: 3.38 g, 0.917 fine silver, 0.099 oz ASW.

Catalog reference: Cayón-11947, KM 27.1.

Sources:

• ^[1]Gilboy, Frank F., The Milled Columnarios of Central and South America: Spanish American Pillar Coinage, 1732 to 1772, Regina, Saskatchewan: Prairie Wind Publishing, 1999.
• Yonaka, Brad, A Variety Guide to the Pillar Coinage of the Guatemala, Bogota, Lima, Potosi, and Santiago Mints, 1752-1771, Long Beach, CA: Agorocu Consulting, 2018.
• Jara, Carlos M., Historia de la Casa de Moneda de Guatemala 1731-1776, Santiago, Chile: Andros Impresores, 2010.
• ^[2]Bierrenbach, Cristiano, Warren Tucker and Scott Cordry, Heritage Signature Auction 3038, featuring the Empire, the Santa Catarina, the Law and the Santa Maria Collections, Dallas, TX: Heritage Auction Galleries, 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 Felipe VI, 1474 a 2020, Barcelona: Aureo & Calicó, 2019.
• Harris, Robert P., Pillars & Portraits, San José, CA: Bonanza Press, 1968.
• Michael, Thomas, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1701-1800, 7th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2016.
• Robinson, Charles, The Coins of Central America, 1733-1965, San Benito, TX: 1965.
• Stickney, Brian, A Monetary History of Central America, New York: American Numismatic Society, 2017.

Link to:

• 1767 4 reales
• 1766 8 reales
• Bolivia 1767-PTS JR 8 reales
• Chile 1767-So J 8 reales
• Mexico 1767-Mo MF 8 reales
• Peru 1767-L JM 8 reales
• 1768 real
• Coins and currency dated 1767
• return to coins of Guatemala