Spain (15)89-S D 4 reales
This specimen was lot 964 in Jean Elsen sale 148 (Brussels, September 2021), where it sold for €200 (about US$284 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"ESPAGNE, Philippe II (1556-1598), AR 4 reales, 1589, Séville. D/ Ecu couronné. A g., S. A d., /IIII et 89. R/ Quadrilobe écartelé aux armes de Castille et Leon. Rare. Beau à Très Beau. (kingdom of Spain, Philip II, 1556-98, silver four reales of 1589, Seville mint. Obverse: crowned arms, mintmark, date and value below; reverse: quartered quadrilobe with the arms of Castile and Leon. Rare, Fine - Very Fine.)"
This type was struck at several mints late in the reign of Philip II, about the same time as the Segovia mint was experimenting with milled coins. Assayer C is not listed for 1590 but is noted for 1591 and 1593. This example is crude enough that is it possible that the assayer was originally "D".
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 13.54 g .931 fine silver, this specimen 13,37 g.
Catalog reference: Cal. 580, Cayón-3814.
- 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.
- [1]Elsen, Philippe, et al., Vente Publique 148: Monnaies, Médailles et Décorations, Brussels: Jean Elsen et ses Fils S.A., 2021.
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