Heritage World Coin Auctions
NYINC Signature Sale 3030 5-6 January 2014
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Guatemala
Ferdinand VI Pillar 8 Reales 1754 G-J, KM18, Cal-79. XF45 NGC. Arabic "5" variety. Very attractive steel toning with no major flaws. For precision sake, clashed dies are noted with the retrogade or negative "1754" date under "REX" on the obverse and the retrograde "F" of "FERDINAND" (in monogram) underneath the date. 171,471 minted (including all varieties). Very rare and important as the first milled dollar issued in Guatemala.The Royal Ordinance of May 14, 1751 instructed the Guatemala mint to begin issuing proper milled coinage of the pillar type in silver and the wigged type in gold. This was a noticeable quality improvement from the hand struck coins that had been issued earlier and a step towards uniformity for the coinage issued in the Spanish American mints. For that purpose, machinery and dies had been sent from the Mexico City mint at a total cost of 84,334 pesos. The main shipment including master dies (dated 1751), trussels, puncheons and edge design presses was received on February 17, 1753. However, the new milled coinage was not issued until March 29, 1754 (not May 24 as indicated by Medina and Dasí) when coins of every silver and gold denomination were finally struck. Two basic subtypes exist for the 1754 milled silver issues: these are distinguished by the style of the "5" numeral in the date, either Arabic (such as the present coin) or Spanish (see next lot). In addition, variations in the font used for the assayer initial on the 8 Reales (either small - using the puncheon of the 4 Reales - or large) also exist for both 1754 and 1755 in the 4 and 8 Reales series. In all probability, the "Arabic" style 1754 issues correspond to these first milled coins issued (note that this very same style for the "5" numeral and the small "J" for the assayer initial had been used in Guatemala for hand struck coinage), while the "Spanish 5" variety (which is the same used in the Mexico city mint) was issued later in an effort to attend the aimed uniformity. The change from Arabic to Spanish style must have occurred quickly since the 1754 Arabic style series is noticeably rarer than the Spanish style series for all denominations. In particular, the present coin is the key to complete the Ferdinand VI date set of 8 Reales and was the only 8 Reales missing in the Haberthuer collection (SBC 1/1996). This specimen is among the finest of the dozen or so pieces known and on par with both the Amat (Ponterio 3/1991, lot 155) and Patterson specimens (Bonhams 7/1996, lot 302 for £5,200). It has also a nice pedigree to boot: ex Ray Johnson collection (Freeman Craig 9/1982 auction, lot 86, described as RRRR and sold for $2,750).From The Isaac Rudman Collection of Guatemala Coins Krause catalog price(s) for this item: $2000 in VF, $3000 in EF.
Estimate: 4000-6000 USD
Ferdinand VI Pillar 8 Reales 1754 G-J, KM18, Cal-79. XF45 NGC. Arabic "5" variety. Very attractive steel toning with no major flaws. For precision sake, clashed dies are noted with the retrogade or negative "1754" date under "REX" on the obverse and the retrograde "F" of "FERDINAND" (in monogram) underneath the date. 171,471 minted (including all varieties). Very rare and important as the first milled dollar issued in Guatemala.The Royal Ordinance of May 14, 1751 instructed the Guatemala mint to begin issuing proper milled coinage of the pillar type in silver and the wigged type in gold. This was a noticeable quality improvement from the hand struck coins that had been issued earlier and a step towards uniformity for the coinage issued in the Spanish American mints. For that purpose, machinery and dies had been sent from the Mexico City mint at a total cost of 84,334 pesos. The main shipment including master dies (dated 1751), trussels, puncheons and edge design presses was received on February 17, 1753. However, the new milled coinage was not issued until March 29, 1754 (not May 24 as indicated by Medina and Dasí) when coins of every silver and gold denomination were finally struck. Two basic subtypes exist for the 1754 milled silver issues: these are distinguished by the style of the "5" numeral in the date, either Arabic (such as the present coin) or Spanish (see next lot). In addition, variations in the font used for the assayer initial on the 8 Reales (either small - using the puncheon of the 4 Reales - or large) also exist for both 1754 and 1755 in the 4 and 8 Reales series. In all probability, the "Arabic" style 1754 issues correspond to these first milled coins issued (note that this very same style for the "5" numeral and the small "J" for the assayer initial had been used in Guatemala for hand struck coinage), while the "Spanish 5" variety (which is the same used in the Mexico city mint) was issued later in an effort to attend the aimed uniformity. The change from Arabic to Spanish style must have occurred quickly since the 1754 Arabic style series is noticeably rarer than the Spanish style series for all denominations. In particular, the present coin is the key to complete the Ferdinand VI date set of 8 Reales and was the only 8 Reales missing in the Haberthuer collection (SBC 1/1996). This specimen is among the finest of the dozen or so pieces known and on par with both the Amat (Ponterio 3/1991, lot 155) and Patterson specimens (Bonhams 7/1996, lot 302 for £5,200). It has also a nice pedigree to boot: ex Ray Johnson collection (Freeman Craig 9/1982 auction, lot 86, described as RRRR and sold for $2,750).From The Isaac Rudman Collection of Guatemala Coins Krause catalog price(s) for this item: $2000 in VF, $3000 in EF.
Estimate: 4000-6000 USD