Bolivia (1575-76)-P M 4 reales

Stack's Bowers November 2022 Collectors Choice sale, lot 71026

This specimen was lot 71026 in Stack's Bowers Collectors Choice sale (Costa Mesa, CA, November 2022), where it sold for $750. The catalog description^[1] noted, "BOLIVIA. Cob 4 Reales, ND (1575-76)-P. Potosi Mint; Assayer Miguel Garcia (M). Philip II. PCGS Genuine--Tooled, EF Details. An exceedingly well-struck and elegantly toned 4 Reales cob. Areas with deep scratches along the obverse and reverse legends account for the grade, but they appear to have been made long ago and do not detract from the coin's visual impact. The mintmark, assayer's initial, and denomination on the obverse present sharply and clearly on either side of the richly detailed Habsburg shield. The reverse suffers some flatness and doubling but is pleasingly centered. This is a choice example of an early Potosi cob. From the Pat Johnson Collection. Privately purchased from Freeman Craig." The mountains around Potosi contained enormous amounts of high grade silver ore, a situation the Spanish were not slow to exploit. A mint was set up in the 1570's to process the silver mined there. The early products of the reign of Philip II are fairly good quality but rot set in during the following reign, including fraudulent debasement. The Potosi mint was the first mint in the western hemisphere to date its products. Dating began in 1617.

Recorded mintage: unknown.

Specification: 13.54 g, 0.931 fine silver, this specimen 13.51 g.

Catalog reference: Cayón-3779, KM-4.2; Cal-520.

Source:

• 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.
• Krause, Chester L., and Colin R. Bruce II, Standard Catalog of World Coins: Spain, Portugal and the New World, Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2002.
• Menzel, Sewall, Cobs, Pieces of Eight and Treasure Coins, New York: The American Numismatic Society, 2004.
• ^[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:

• (1574-76) ¼ real
• (1574-76) ½ real
• (1574-76)-R 4 reales
• (1574-79)-R 8 reales
• (1574-79)-L 8 reales
• (1574-86)-B 8 reales
• (1576-77)-M 8 reales
• (1578-95)-B 4 reales
• Coins and currency dated 1575