Spain 1625-MD V 2 escudos

Heritage sale 3042, lot 30623

This specimen was lot 30623 in Heritage sale 3042 (Long Beach, September 2015), where it sold for $2,585. The catalog description^[1] noted, "Philip IV gold cob 2 Escudos 1625 MD-V MS62 NGC, Madrid mint, Lustrous Mint State with sharply defined features and clear mintmark, assayer initial and date - the last digit a tad blurry yet identifiable. A rare issue in any grade, especially elusive and desirable in this outstanding designation." This type is recorded for 1625-28, 1644-46, 1651 and 1661 from Madrid The corresponding Seville mint issue (KM 82.1) is noted as the most common two escudos of the seventeenth century. The type is also mentioned for Cuenca but those issues are much scarcer. It is hammered.

Recorded mintage: unknown but rare.

Specification: 6.86 g, .917 fine gold, .202 troy oz AGW.

Catalog reference: Cayón-6629, KM 82.2, Fr-205, Cal-139.

Sources:

• 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]Cristiano Bierrenbach, Warren Tucker and David Michaels, Heritage World Coin Auction 3042, featuring the Read and Bob Bennett Collections, Dallas, TX: Heritage Auction Galleries, 2015.
• Cuhaj, George S., and Thomas Michael, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1601-1700, 6th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2014.
• 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.

Link to:

• 1621-MD escudo
• 1623-S 2 escudos
• 1625-Seg 8 reales
• Barcelona 1625 1/2 trentin
• 1625-S 2 escudos
• 1626-MD 4 reales
• 1628-S 2 escudos
• return to Spanish pre-decimal coinage (maravedis, reales and escudos)
• Coins and currency dated 1625