Watch List notes:

BOLIVIA. Cob 4 Reales, 1639-P. Potosi Mint; Assayer Pedro Trevino (TR). Philip IV. PCGS Genuine--Environmental Damage, EF Details.
cf. KM-17A; Cal-Type-279. Weight: 13.16 gms. Rough and somewhat corroded, this Cob nonetheless retains enough detail to attribute it to the SCARCE assayer "TR". His monogram appears on the obverse below the mintmark, and the reverse shows truncated digits "16" followed by faint remnants of the digits "39", just enough to assert a dating of 1639. The coin's central shield and castles and lions are finely struck and presentable, and the deeply toned surfaces show some pleasing luster. A satisfying example for this uncommon assayer.

Pedro Trevino's brief tenure as assayer at the Potosi mint is shrouded in mystery. Serving for only about four years, Trevino marked his issues with a distinctive monogram combining the first two letters of his surname. He appears to have been replaced in 1640 by Felipe Ramirez de Arellano, who used his own monogram which was quite similar to Trevino's. Both Trevino and Ramirez were later implicated in the Potosi Mint Fraud, and coins issued with their monograms were ordered to be counterstamped and devalued.

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From the Pat Johnson Collection.

Privately purchased from Freeman Craig.

Estimate: $300 - $500