Guatemala 1763-G P 4 Reales
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This specimen is a 1763 four reales from the Guatemala mint, of a type issued 1760-71. All pillar coinage from Guatemala is scarce and many issues are rare. Gilboy[1] notes this variety as "R2" or "very rare". The variety shown exhibits VTRAQUE emplaced as one word. Assayer "P" is noted for the years 1759-85. 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.
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.
Specification: 13.53 g, 0.917 fine silver, 0.399 troy oz ASW.
Catalog reference: Cayón-11700, G-4-12a, KM 26.
- 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.
- Michael, Thomas, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1701-1800, 7th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2016.
- [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.
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