Daniel Frank Sedwick, LLC
Treasure Auction 28 17-19 Nov 2020
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Colombia
Cartagena, Colombia, cob 8 reales, (16)55, assayer S below mintmark C to right, extremely rare, ex-Jones (Plate Coin).S-C4; Restrepo-M48.2; Cal-1239.25.42 grams.This desirable one-year issue (the unauthorized final coinage of the Cartagena mint until Independence) is basically only known from shipwreck salvage and rarely shows any part of the date due to its peripheral location, the present specimen displaying the clearest date on record, with both 5's full, in addition to the nearly equally rare presence of a full and clear mintmark-assayer C-S to the right of the shield, also with bold full denomination to left inside king's ordinal IIII in legend. We do not know which wreck yielded this coin, but it left only a veneer of corrosion on the surface (VF details otherwise), an apparent (and rather crude) hole at bottom edge not from corrosion but from a natural bubble in the metal, toned around details. The story behind this coinage is fascinating: In 1655, after much deliberation over what to do about lack of legal coinage after the Potosi mint scandal, and facing the need to supply money for provisioning the Armada of the Marquis of Montealegre on their way to battle with English (in which, by the way, the English took Jamaica), Governor Don Pedro Zapata made the "executive decision" to re-open the mint without royal authorization. Much like what happened when Lima re-opened its mint in 1659 with only the Viceroy's consent, once the King discovered what had happened he ordered an investigation and trial; but unlike the "Star of Lima" coins of 1659-60, the Cartagena issue took place for only a couple months, making these coins among the rarest type of silver cobs from the Americas.Pedigreed to the Dr. Peter Jones collection, plated on page 195 of his book The First Coins of the Americas (2020), and to the Cayon auction of February 2012, with original lot-tag #275.
Estimate: 3500-5000 USD
Cartagena, Colombia, cob 8 reales, (16)55, assayer S below mintmark C to right, extremely rare, ex-Jones (Plate Coin).S-C4; Restrepo-M48.2; Cal-1239.25.42 grams.This desirable one-year issue (the unauthorized final coinage of the Cartagena mint until Independence) is basically only known from shipwreck salvage and rarely shows any part of the date due to its peripheral location, the present specimen displaying the clearest date on record, with both 5's full, in addition to the nearly equally rare presence of a full and clear mintmark-assayer C-S to the right of the shield, also with bold full denomination to left inside king's ordinal IIII in legend. We do not know which wreck yielded this coin, but it left only a veneer of corrosion on the surface (VF details otherwise), an apparent (and rather crude) hole at bottom edge not from corrosion but from a natural bubble in the metal, toned around details. The story behind this coinage is fascinating: In 1655, after much deliberation over what to do about lack of legal coinage after the Potosi mint scandal, and facing the need to supply money for provisioning the Armada of the Marquis of Montealegre on their way to battle with English (in which, by the way, the English took Jamaica), Governor Don Pedro Zapata made the "executive decision" to re-open the mint without royal authorization. Much like what happened when Lima re-opened its mint in 1659 with only the Viceroy's consent, once the King discovered what had happened he ordered an investigation and trial; but unlike the "Star of Lima" coins of 1659-60, the Cartagena issue took place for only a couple months, making these coins among the rarest type of silver cobs from the Americas.Pedigreed to the Dr. Peter Jones collection, plated on page 195 of his book The First Coins of the Americas (2020), and to the Cayon auction of February 2012, with original lot-tag #275.
Estimate: 3500-5000 USD