Watch List notes:

Mexico City, Mexico, cob 4 reales, 1637/6P, crude Royal(?), unique, from the Concepcion (1641), ex-Christensen. S-M19; KM-unl; CT-unl. 10.74 grams. This is a mysterious coin, clearly far above the usual non-Royal quality for the period but no comparison to the near-perfect 1639P 4R Royals on record. The date is not easy to discern: While the 16 is clear, the last two digits are crude (in fact originally attributed to 1639 by Christensen), the 3 being of a typically distinctive shape and the 7/6 oddly far inside the legend. We suspect this might be assayer P's first attempt at a Royal, for the only earlier Philip IV 4R Royals on record for this assayer--1631 and 1632--are dated before P began in 1634 and therefore we believe they are erroneous. Unfortunately we cannot locate photos of these coins to compare details and see whether they are of a fine style like the known 1639 or crude like the present 1637/6. In any case the shield and cross on this coin are full and the oMP is bold, with king's ordinal IIII and nearly full legend on reverse, darkly toned, VF details despite light surface corrosion (also some minor edge-loss), and well worth a premium above a normal cob even if not a full-fledged Royal. From the Concepcion (1641) and pedigreed to the original Concepcion auction (Christensen, May 1982), lot #75. ($1000-2000)