| Slot: |
EARLY SERIES PILLARS, 1536-1541 |
| Origin/Country: |
MEXICO - TO 1600 (1538-41) |
| Design Description: |
4R Pillars 4 / Sideways 4 |
| Item Description: |
0.9310 Silver..4069 oz. ASW, 4R (1541-42)M P oMo, CHARLES & JOANNA DOTTED CIRCLES |
| Grade: |
NGC VF Details |
| Research: |
View Coin |
Owner Comments
THIS COIN"S PLACE IN HISTORY
This is an example of the 4 Reales known as the "Early Series" (1536-1541). They are undated and minted during the reign of Charles I and Juana of Spain. They were struck beginning in 1537 at the Mexico mint and were minted from 1537 to 1541 and were known as the Pillars design.
This is a very rare speciman in VF condition with nearly complete legends on both sides. The obverse shield of Spain is complete along with the mintmark, oMo and assayer initial oPo. The names of the king and queen are boldly struck in the reverse legend.
DESCRIPTION:
OBVERSE: Crowned arms, Latin M's for mint mark (oMo) to the left and assayer (oPo Pedo de Espina) to the right.
Obv. Legend: in Latin incircling the rim: (KAROLVS * ET * IOHANA * RE
REVERSE: Crowned Pillars with the denomination (4) between them. In the early coins the 4 was slanted.
Rev. Legend: (HISPANIARVM ET INDIARVM)
Legend Translation : Charles and Johana King of Spain and the Indies.
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| Slot: |
LATE SERIES PILLARS AND WAVES, 1544-1555 |
| Origin/Country: |
FRANCE - TO 1600 (1542-55) |
| Design Description: |
Pillers and Waves |
| Item Description: |
0.9310 Silver..4069 oz. ASW, ECU'OR 1565F FR-378 CHARLES IX |
| Grade: |
NGC XF 45 |
| Research: |
View Coin |
Owner Comments
THIS COIN'S PLACE IN HISTORY
Around the year 1542 new die punches were sent to Mexico from Spain for a new design. The basic design remained the same but the mint mark and the assayer's initial were placed on the obverse, one on either side of the shield.
The reverse of the coin was modified to place the two crowned Pillars of Hercules in water, representing their actual location at the Straits of Gibralter. This modification was adopted on later cob varieties and has become known as the "Pillars and Waves" design. Also, the motto PLVS VLTRA was modified. Rather than simply using PLVS in a banner between the columns, the full motto was included, broken into three sections by the two columns with the banner removed.
This design, known as the "Late Series", continued to be minted after the ascendancy of Phillip II in 1556. At the Mexico City mint they even continued to use the Charles and Johanna legend. However, at Lima, when the mint opened in 1568, they used the same design as Mexico City but with PHILIPVS II.
DESCRIPTION:
OBVERSE: Crowned arms, mint mark (M) to the left and assayer (G Juan Gutierrez) to the right.
Obv. Legend: in Latin incircling the rim: (CHROLVS * ET * IOHANA * REGES
REVERSE: Crowned Pillars with the denomination (4) between them. In the early coins the 4 was slanted.
Rev. Legend: (HISPANIARVM ET INDIA)
Legend Translation : Charles and Johana King of Spain and the Indies.
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| Slot: |
INTRODUCING THE COB,
1572-1734 |
| Origin/Country: |
GERMANY - STATES 3 (1574-86) |
| Design Description: |
Shield & Cross |
| Item Description: |
0.9310 Silver..8102 oz. ASW, 3M 1914J HAMBURG |
| Grade: |
NGC XF 40 |
| Research: |
View Coin |
Owner Comments
THIS COIN'S PLACE IN HISTORY
This is the third type of Spanish colonial silver coinage struck in the New World and is known as the Shield and Cross type. These were the first of the crude cobs and were all undated. These coins were struck by hand at the Mexico, Santo Domingo, Lima, La Plata, Potosi, Panama, Cartagena and Bogota mints in the time period of 1572 to 1734. The design incorporated the Spanish coat of arms or shield on the obverse side and a cross representing the union of Church and State on the reverse. Shield type cob coinage was first struck at the Mexico City mint in 1572 and ceased production in 1733 when it was replaced by the machine struck Pillar Dollar.
DESCRIPTION:
OBVERSE: Crowned arms, mint mark (Mo) and assyer's initial B (Hernando Ballesteros) to the left, denomination (8) to the right.
Legend in Latin incircling the rim: (PHILIPPVS D.G. HISPANIARVM)
REVERSE: Cross of Jerusalem in tressure, castles and lions in quarters. Legend incircling the rim: (ET INDIARVM REX).
LEGEND TRANSLATION:(Philip by the Grace of God King of Spain and the Indies)
HISTORY:
The Lima mint also struck shield type coins in 1572, but only a few coins were minted before operations ceased the same year. Potosi began striking coins in 1574 using dies from the Lima mint. Shield type production ceased at Potosi in 1652, because of the great scandle, and was replaced by the "Pillar and Waves" design.
As additional silver deposits were discovered in the colonial territories there was a pressing demand to export it to Spain as quickly as possible. To do this, starting in the reign of Philip II, the mints produced irregular coinage called cobs. Rather than rolling out a bar of silver into a sheet of a specific thickness that could then be cut into smooth round planchets which would be stamped into coins, a faster method was employed. A bar of silver was simply cut into chunks of the appropriate weight. These small sliver chunks were then treated as if they were finished planchets and were hammer struck between crude dies. The size, shape and impression of these cobs was highly irregular but they were the proper weight. Many cobs were quite thick and disfigured with large cracks. Also, these uneven clumps made poor planchets so that frequently only a small portion of the image on the die was impressed on the silver. If a cob was overweight the minter simply clipped a piece off, further disfiguring the coin.
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| Slot: |
NEW BOLIVIAN COB DESIGN |
| Origin/Country: |
BOLIVIA - COLONIAL to 1824 (1747-78) |
| Design Description: |
Pillars and Waves |
| Item Description: |
0.9170 Silver..7982 oz. ASW, 8R 1767P V Y P TYPE III KM-45 |
| Grade: |
NGC VF 30 |
| Research: |
View Coin |
Owner Comments
THIS COIN'S PLACE IN HISTORY
DESCRIPTION:
Reverse:
Crowned pillars and waves in a tic-tac-toe block of nine spaces.
Top Left: Mint Mark (P)
Top Middle: Denomination (8)
Top Right: Assayer Mark (V Jose de Vargas, senior assayer 1760-1773).
Bottom Left: Assayer Y (Raimundo de Yturriaga)
Bottom Middle: Date, three last digits (767)
Bottom Right: Mint Mark repeated (P)
Obverse:
A large cross of Jerusalem dominates, and within the 4 quadrants of the cross are two lions (bottom left and top right) and two castles (bottom right and top left), emblematic of the merger of the two mrdieval kingdoms of Leon (lion) and Castilla (Castile or castle) that formed the nucleus of the unified provinces that became Spain. The denomination is on the rim at 12:00, the assayer's at 3:00, the date at 6:00 and mint mark at 9:00.
HISTORY:
This speciman was designed to meet the requirements of King Philip IV.
This was the so-called "Pillars-and-Waves" design. The pillars are the Pillars of Hercules, a mythological reference to the Straits of Gibraltar, with one pillar in Spain, actually the Rock of Gibraltar, and the other in North Africa, where mountains rise from the coast opposite Gibraltar. Erected by the god Hercules, these two skyward reaches on each side of the entrance to the Mediterranean were considered by the ancients to be the end of the world, "ne plus ultra" (as was often inscribed on early European maps), the "nothing beyond", hence an exit into the unknown. The waves under the pillar represent distance by sea. Emblazoned horizontally across the middle of the pillars was the counter-motto "Plus Ultra", without it's former "ne", hence "more beyond". The message was: Over the waves (Atlantic Ocean), beyond the Pillars of Hercules, a New World (America) exists, with the implication that this New World belongs to Spain.
The Potosi transition period was the beginning of a relatively standard coinage that was to circulate worldwide for well over a hundred years. The mint went into full production of it's new cob coinage and mint records indicate that during 1652 the Potosi mint produced a total of some 2,220,359 pesos, in denominations of 8, 4, 2, 1 and 1/2 reales. To shore up confidence in the new coins, the royal authorities in Maddrid announced an edict of 23 September 1653 that Potosi's coinage would be accepted by all parts of the Spanish empire.
Despite the optimism by the new start, Potosi in fact had entered upon a gradual but steady decline, one that lasted well into the eighteenth century. There were numerous reasons for the decline but the maine reason was the silver ore was generally of lower quality and deeper under ground which reguired ever larger quantites of ore alonf with the expensive mercury.
Despite a series of reforms which included a new mint and new machine made coinage, the mint's output gradually deteriorated until production of cob coinage was terminated in 1773.
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| Slot: |
AN EMERGENCY BACKUP FOR NEW SCREW PRESS |
| Origin/Country: |
MEXICO - TO 1823 (1733-34) |
| Design Description: |
Klippe Shield and Cross |
| Item Description: |
0.9160 Silver, 8R 1733MO MF KLIPPE EX: ROOSWIJK WRECK |
| Grade: |
NGC XF Details |
| Research: |
View Coin |
Owner Comments
.
After gaining experience as an assistant assayer during the 1720s, Captain Felipe Rivas Anglo served as the working assayer during the period when the mint began to change from the handstruck, cob-style coins to the new, machined pieces produced on a screw press. In accordance with the royal decree of 9 June 1728, screw press production began on 29 March 1732. In reality, the introduction of the new and unfamiliar technology at first slowed production so that it was necessary to continue minting cobs into 1733. As a result, the assayer's initial F not only appears in 1732 on cob pieces and the new style "pillar dollar" pieces, but also in 1733 on the series of silver coins known as "klippes". The word thought to derive from the Swedish verb meaning to clip or cut with shears," is widely used to describe money produced in emergency situations like sieges, when time or facilities were lacking for the production of round planchets. The Spanish term for such coins is recortados--items that have been cut or trimmed more than once. The word reflects the reality of the period at the Mexican mint. The klippes were generally too large and had to be trimmed around the edges to obtain the proper weight. They were produced like cobs to make up the continued shortfall in milled coins, and were the last coin issued with the traditional Bourbon shield.
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| Slot: |
THE MEXICAN 8 REALES, PILLAR |
| Origin/Country: |
MEXICO - TO 1823 |
| Design Description: |
Pillar |
| Item Description: |
8R 1733MO F MILLED KM-103, GIL M-8-2 |
| Grade: |
NGC AU Details |
| Research: |
View Coin |
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| Slot: |
THE FIRST 8 REALES, PORTRAIT |
| Origin/Country: |
MEXICO - TO 1823 1773 -1784 |
| Design Description: |
Armored Bust Charles III |
| Item Description: |
0.9030 Silver..7858 oz. ASW, 8R 1775MO FM KM-106.2 |
| Grade: |
NGC XF Details |
| Research: |
View Coin |
Owner Comments
THIS COIN'S PLACE IN HISTORY
DESCRIPTION:
This type is the sixth and last type of Spanish Colonial silver coinage struck in the New World and is the Milled Portrait type. These were machine struck on full-sized round planchets.
OBVERSE:
The design was modified to replace the arms of Leon and Castile with an armored bust of the king and a legend giving the king's name and title as, CAROLUS III DEI GRATIA (Charles III by the Grace of God) with the date.
REVERSE:
The coins continued to display the two Pillars of Hercules with the motto PLUS VLTRA (More Beyond) on banners, but the two orbs between the columns were replaced with the crowned shield of Leon and Castile. The legend reads, HISPAN. ET IND. REX (King of Spain and the Indies) followed by the mintmark, the denomination and the assayer's initials.
EDGE:
The laurel leaf edge was also replaced with an edge design comprised of alternating circles and rectangles. These coins, continued to be minted through 1821.
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| Slot: |
Charles III, PICTURE LATE TO PERU |
| Origin/Country: |
PERU 1659-1826 |
| Design Description: |
PORTRAIT |
| Item Description: |
0.8960 Silver, .7797 oz. ASW 8R 1788LIMA IJ Bust of Charles II, legend Charles III KM-78a |
| Grade: |
NGC VF 35 |
| Research: |
View Coin |
Owner Comments
THIS COIN'S PLACE IN HISTORY
The Lima mint had not received a portrait of Charles III when it began coinage of the bust design in 1772. It was forced to use a portrait of Charles II with the legend of CAROLUS III until 1789.
DESCRIPTION:
OOBVERSE:
The obverse design has a bust of the king and a legend giving the king's name and title as, CAROLUS III DEI GRATIA (Charles III by the Grace of God) with the date 1788).
REVERSE:
The reverse design has the two Pillars of Hercules with the motto PLUS VLTRA (More Beyond) on banners, flanking the crowned shield of Leon and Castile. The legend reads, HISPAN. ET IND. REX (King of Spain and the Indies) followed by the mintmark in monogram (LM), the denomination (8) and the assayer's initials (IJ Unknown). The edge design is comprised of alternating circles and rectangles.
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| Slot: |
Charles IIII, PICTURE LATE TO PERU |
| Origin/Country: |
PERU 1659-1826 |
| Design Description: |
Portrait Charles III |
| Item Description: |
0.8960 Silver, .7797 oz. ASW, 8R 1790LIMA IJ LM Bust of Charles III, Legend Charles IV, KM# 87 |
| Grade: |
NGC XF Details |
| Research: |
View Coin |
Owner Comments
THIS COIN'S PLACE IN HISTORY
A two year transitional design with the incorrect armored bust of Charles III and the correct legend Charles IV. When Charles III died in 1788 it took many months for a portrait of the new king Charles IV to reach New Spain. Until it arrived the old portrait of Charles the III continued to be used.
DESCRIPTION:
OBVERSE: The obverse design has a bust of Charles III and the legend giving the king's name and title as, CAROLUS IV DEI GRATIA.
Obv. Translation: Charles IIII by the Grace of God) with the date 1790.
REVERSE: The reverse design has the two Pillars of Hercules with the motto PLUS VLTRA (More Beyond) on banners, flanking the crowned shield of Leon and Castile. The legend reads, HISPAN. ET IND. REX ) followed by the mintmark (LM in monogram), the denomination (8) and the assayer's initials (IJ-Unknown.
Rev. Translation:(King of Spain and the Indies.)
The edge design is comprised of alternating circles and rectangles
Mintage: 4,313,000
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| Slot: |
CHARLES IIII PICTURE LATE TO MEX. |
| Origin/Country: |
MEXICO - TO 1823 |
| Design Description: |
PORTRAIT |
| Item Description: |
0.9030 Silver .7858 oz. ASW, 8R 1790MO FM "CAROLUS IIII" CHARLES III BUST KM 108 |
| Grade: |
NGC AU 58 |
| Research: |
View Coin |
Owner Comments
THIS COIN'S PLACE IN HISTORY
A two year transitional design with the incorrect armored bust of Charles III and the correct legend of Charles IIII. When Charles III died in 1788 it took many months for a portrait of the new king, Charles IV, to reach New Spain. Until it arrived the old portrait of Charles the III continued to be used and the Mexico City mint used the designation IIII instead of IV as done at the Lima mint.
DESCRIPTION:
OBVERSE: The obverse design has a bust of the king and the legend giving the king's name and title as, CAROLUS IIII DEI GRATIA (Charles IIII by the Grace of God) with the date 1790.
REVERSE: The reverse design has the two Pillars of Hercules with the motto PLUS VLTRA (More Beyond) on banners, flanking the crowned shield of Leon and Castile. The legend reads, HISPAN. ET IND. REX (King of Spain and the Indies) followed by the mintmark (Mo), the denomination (8) and the assayer's initials (FM-Francisco Arance Cobos & Mariano Rodriguez). The edge design is comprised of alternating circles and rectangles.
NOTE: Coins were minted in 1790 with both Charles IV and Charles IIII legends.
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| Slot: |
CHARLES IIII PICTURE ARRIVED MEX. |
| Origin/Country: |
MEXICO - TO 1823 |
| Design Description: |
Portrait |
| Item Description: |
0.8960 Silver. .7797 oz. ASW. 8R 1794MO FM KM# 109 |
| Grade: |
NGC XF Details |
| Research: |
View Coin |
Owner Comments
THIS COIN'S PLACE IN HISTORY
This coin has the portrait of Charles IIII with the legend of Charles IIII. This is the correct legend and portrait after a two year transition period.
DESCRIPTION:
OBVERSE: The obverse design has a bust of Charles IIII and a legend giving the king's name and title as, CAROLUS IIII DEI GRATIA (Charles IIII by the Grace of God) with the date.
REVERSE: The reverse has the two Pillars of Hercules with the motto PLUS VLTRA (More Beyond) on banners flanking the crowned shield of Leon and Castile. The legend reads, HISPAN. ET IND. REX (King of Spain and the Indies) followed by the mintmark (Mo) the denomination (8) and the assayer's initials (FM-Francisco Arance Cobos and Mariano Rodriguez). The edge design is comprised of alternating circles and rectangles.
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| Slot: |
FERDINAND VII PICTURE LATE TO PERU |
| Origin/Country: |
PERU 1659-1826 1808-1809 |
| Design Description: |
Portrait |
| Item Description: |
0.8960 Silver, .7797 oz. ASW 8R 1808LIMA JP FERDINAND VII LARGE IMAGINED BUST KM# 106.1 |
| Grade: |
NGC XF 45 |
| Research: |
View Coin |
Owner Comments
THIS COIN'S PLACE IN HISTORY
A transitional period from 1808 until 1811. King Charles IIII died in 1808 and Lima, rather than continue to use his portrait until a portrait of the new king Ferdinand VII arrived, used an imaginary bust of an Inca soldier with the correct legend, Ferdinand VII, during the period 1808 through part of 1811.
DESCRIPTION:
OBVERSE: The obverse design has an imaginary bust of an Inca soldier and the legend giving the king's name and title as, FERDND VII DEI GRATIA (Ferdinand VII by the Grace of God) with the date.
REVERSE: The reverse has the two Pillars of Hercules with the motto PLUS VLTRA (More Beyond) on banners flanking the crowned shield of Leon and Castile. The legend reads, HISPAN. ET IND. REX (King of Spain and the Indies) followed by the mintmark (LM) in monogram, the denomination (8) and the assayer's initials (JP-Juan Rodriquez Gutierrez and Pedro Cano). The edge design is comprised of alternating circles and rectangles.
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| Slot: |
MEXICO WAITING FOR FERDIN VII PICTURE |
| Origin/Country: |
MEXICO - TO 1823 ,1808 to 1809 |
| Design Description: |
PORTRAIT, ARMORED BUST, FERDINAND VII |
| Item Description: |
0.8960 Silver, .7797 oz. ASW, 8R 1809MO TH ,KM# 110 |
| Grade: |
NGC AU Details |
| Research: |
View Coin |
Owner Comments
THIS COIN'S PLACE IN HISTORY
A transitional period from 1808 until 1811. King Charles IIII died in 1808 and Mexico, rather than continue to use his portrait until a portrait of the new king Ferdinand VII arrived, used an armored imaginary bust of Ferdinand with the correct legend Ferdinand VII during the period 1808 through part of 1811.
DESCRIPTION
OBVERSE: The obverse design has an imaginary bust and the legend giving the king's name and title as, FERDND VII DEI GRATIA (Ferdinand VII by the Grace of God) with the date.
REVERSE: The reverse has the two Pillars of Hercules with the motto PLUS VLTRA (More Beyond) on banners flanking the crowned shield of Leon and Castile. The legend reads, HISPAN. ET IND. REX (King of Spain and the Indies) followed by the mintmark (Mo), the denomination (8) and the assayer's initials (TH-Tomas Burton Miranda and Henrique Buenaventura Azorin). The edge design is comprised of alternating circles and rectangles.
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| Slot: |
PERU WAITING FOR FERDIN VII PICTURE |
| Origin/Country: |
PERU 1659-1826 ,1809-1811 |
| Design Description: |
PORTRAIT IMAGINARY BUST, |
| Item Description: |
0.8960 Silver, .7797 oz. ASW, 8R 1811LIMA JP IMAGINED BUST KM# 106.2 |
| Grade: |
NGC AU 53 |
| Research: |
View Coin |
Owner Comments
THIS COIN'S PLACE IN HISTORY
A transitional period from 1808 until 1811. King Charles IIII died in 1808 and Lima, rather than continue to use his portrait until a portrait of the new king Ferdinand VII arrived, used an imaginary bust of an Inca soldier with the correct legend, Ferdinand VII, during the period 1808 through part of 1811.
DESCRIPTION:
OBVERSE: The obverse design has an imaginary bust of an Inca soldier and the legend giving the king's name and title as, FERDIN VII DEI GRATIA (Ferdinand VII by the Grace of God) with the date.
REVERSE: The reverse has the two Pillars of Hercules with the motto PLUS VLTRA (More Beyond) on banners flanking the crowned shield of Leon and Castile. The legend reads, HISPAN. ET IND. REX (King of Spain and the Indies) followed by the mintmark (LM) in monogram, the denomination (8) and the assayer's initials (JP-Juan Rodriquez Gutierrez and Pedro Cano). The edge design is comprised of alternating circles and rectangles.
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| Slot: |
FERDIN VII PICTURE ARRIVED MEXICO
FREDINAND VII PICTURE ARRIVED MEX. |
| Origin/Country: |
MEXICO - TO 1823 ,1811 TO 1821 |
| Design Description: |
PORTRAIT FERDINAND VII |
| Item Description: |
0.9030 Silver .7859 oz. ASW, 8R 1821MO JJ KM# 111 |
| Grade: |
NGC AU 50 |
| Research: |
View Coin |
Owner Comments
THIS COIN'S PLACE IN HISTORY
OBVERSE: The obverse design has the draped bust of Ferdinand VII and the legend giving the king's name and title as, FERDN VII DEI GRATIA (Ferdinand VII by the Grace of God) with the date 1821.
REVERSE: The reverse has the two Pillars of Hercules with the motto PLUS VLTRA (More Beyond) on banners flanking the crowned shield of Leon and Castile. The legend reads, HISPAN. ET IND. REX (King of Spain and the Indies) followed by the mintmark (Mo), the denomination (8) and the assayer's initials (JJ-Joaquin Davila Madrid and Jose Garcia Ansaldo). The edge design is comprised of alternating circles and rectangles.
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