Watch List notes:

Potosi, Bolivia, cob 4 reales Heart, 1696 VR, extremely rare, NGC VF 35, finest and only example in NGC census. S-P40; KM-unl; Cal-506. 13.70 grams. By all accounts the rarest and most beautiful cobs of Potosi are the specially mint-crafted Hearts, believed to pertain to the Catholic Church in general and the Sacred Heart of Jesus Christ specifically. The rarest denomination is the 1/2 real (only four or five dates known), but not far behind is the 4 reales, which are comparatively impressive in size and known in just fourteen dates, of which this coin is the earliest and unique. Like a Royal (galano), its details are complete and evenly struck on a full-weight flan, holed at the top for wearing as a pendant, but the shape is a classic heart with prominent tail at bottom and large stem at top, aligned so the cross is straight up and down (pillars side slightly rotated), with lovely toning all over and damage-free except for the hole (which is why it is straight-graded by NGC), a premium example with multiple areas of attraction as a first-date, single-known, finest-known, presentation-strike trophy. Pedigreed to the Ponterio auction of March 1992 (lot 802, featured on color photo plate) and to the Swiss Bank Corp. auction of September 1997 (lot 1996).
($15000-30000)