Spain 1779-M PJ 1/2 escudo

Aureo sale 261, lot 455

This specimen was lot 455 in Aureo y Calicó sale 261 (Barcelona, July 2014), where it sold for €110 (about US$176 including buyer's fees). The catalog description^[1] noted,

"1779. Carlos III. Madrid. PJ. 1/2 escudo. MBC-/MBC. (Charles III, 1759-88, half escudo of 1779, Madrid mint. About very fine.)"

This type was struck in Madrid 1772-85 (KM 415.1) and Seville 1773-83 (KM 415.2) 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.

Recorded mintage: unknown.

Specification: 1.69 g, 0.901 fine gold, .050 troy oz AGW.

Catalog reference: Fr-290, Cayón-12185, KM 415.1, Cal. 773.

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]Sisó, Teresa, Eduardo Domingo and Lluís Lalana, Subasta Pública 261, Barcelona: Aureo y Calicó Subastas, 2014.
• Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1801-1900, 9th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.

Link to:

• 1778-M ½ escudo
• 1778-S ½ escudo* 1779-M 4 reales
• 1779-M escudo
• 1779-M 2 escudos
• 1779-M 4 escudos
• 1779-M 8 escudos
• 1779-S 8 escudos
• 1783-M ½ escudo
• return to Spanish pre-decimal coinage (maravedis, reales and escudos)
• Coins and currency dated 1779