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ANA Signature Sale 3041 Sess. 1-3  13 August 2015
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Lot 31206

Estimate: 8000 USD
Price realized: 5500 USD
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Mexico
Charles III gold 4 Escudos 1766/5 Mo-MF XF Details (Scratches) NGC, Mexico City mint, KM141, Cal-322. Overdate faint but certain. Lustrous and well detailed, with a few mild scratches to either side of the bust defining the grade but retaining good eye-appeal. An extremely rare overdate, currently one of two confirmed examples by the cataloguer, this being the finer:- the present coin.- a plugged, Fine example.The cataloguer also notes two confirmed specimens of the plain date 1766 variety:- the Banco de Mexico collection specimen, VF.- the Calico plate coin, illustrated by a pencil rubbing but obviously high grade, around XF or a tad better.As mentioned previously, one of only two known of the overdate variety, and a satisfying representative of the type despite the noted defects.----------------------------------------------------------------More on the Charles III 4 Escudos (1762-1771):An Unprecedented Offering of the Very Rare Mexico "Rat-Nose" 4 Escudos Issues of Charles IIIWhen researching the Charles II rat-nose 4 Escudos minted in Mexico City, several facts become immediately clear, all of which point to a general rarity of the entire issue.Main references (KM, Calico, the Onza reference book) only list generic (and comparatively high) values for the entire type, being unable to distinguish between any of the dates. In addition, old references list only a handful of specimens: the legendary Vidal Quadras holdings included only one date (1768, see # 10196 in his 1892 work Catalogo de la Coleccion Vidal Quadras y Ramon), the also legendary collection of Jose Toribio Medina included only two dates (the 1764 and 1768, see pages 95 in his 1919 Monedas Coloniales Hispanomericanas work), while the less know, yet similarly important Carles Torla group housed but one (the 1771, See # 1619 in Plate 79 of his 1936 Coleccion de Emilio Carles Torla work). Moreover, the several legendary cabinets that have been dispersed in the past 30 years (Norweb, Gerber, Eliasberg, Caballero de las Yndias, and Huntington) housed a combined total of five specimens, some of which are the same of the aforementioned old references (the Norweb coin is the ex-Medina coin for example). And lastly, renowned institutional cabinets hold but a combined handful of specimens: the American Numismatic Society collection lacks the type entirely, as does the British Museum, and only the extensive Banco de Mexico collection holds a – remarkable – three different dates: one example each from 1766, 1768 and 1769.It is thus clearly seen that the type is extremely rare since the aforementioned census of known pieces among iconic public and private collections yielded a total of eight (8) specimens! It has therefore, justifiably, been long-considered as one of the key types of the entire gold Mexican series.Now for the astonishing fact: the present offering of the Rudman collection includes 8 different varieties of the type, lacking only the final 1771 date and including one possibly unique coin! In addition, the condition is quite remarkable, including no less than three examples certified as AU50 or better and the current finest representative of the type. Needless to say, such a public offering is unprecedented and unlikely to ever be duplicated again. It will doubtlessly be remembered as one of the landmark sections in the entire Isaac Rudman collection and the numismatic community will surely recognize its significance.From The Rudman Collection of Mexican Coins

Estimate: 8000-12000 USD
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