Watch List notes:

La Rioja, Argentina, 8 reales, 1831 P, very rare, NGC AU 58. Janson-32.2; KM-20. Frosty luster for the grade, with slightly weak strike in parts of legends, second finest in current NGC census behind a single MS 62. This coinage represents a fascinating period in history (as related in full in the accompanying book by Mariano Cohen): In 1829, the Unitary Party under the command of General Lamadrid invaded La Rioja, and in response the population left the city under orders by their provincial chief Facundo Quiroga, who also took all the coins and minting machinery to Los Llanos and buried them, thus creating the legend of Los Tapados de Quiroga (The Hoards of Quiroga). Lamadrid found the machinery in 1830 and struck new coins with new dies. Then in 1831 the Federalists took over, made new dies again (with some slight differences), and struck coins like the one you see here. Accompanied by the book Monedas Riojanas en La Era Quiroga 1824-1835 (2019), by Mariano Cohen.

Estimate: $2000 - $3000