Watch List notes:

PERU. Cob 4 Reales, 1659-L. Lima Mint; Assayer Juan de Villegas (V). Philip IV. PCGS Genuine--Environmental Damage, VF Details.
KM-17; Cal-1013; Sellschopp/Grunthal-78. Weight: 13.46 gms. This VERY RARE "Star of Lima" type is highly interesting and eminently collectible. Although the surfaces on this chunky planchet exhibit some roughness, the obverse details are clear enough to distinctly spot the star above the city name, a variety even rarer than the already rare type with the star between the city initials. To the left of the dividing pillars of Hercules, the assayer's initial "V" is quite bold. The reverse offers even better preserved detail, with pleasing castles and lions. This lot represents a wonderful opportunity to acquire an appealing example of a difficult type that hardly ever appears at auction.

This rare issue is a direct result of the Great Potosi Mint Fraud of 1649. Global commerce was shaken to its core after the discovery of a wide-spanning conspiracy in the Potosi mint that had been issuing countless underweight and debased silver Reales for years. With Spain's commercial reputation at stake, the Crown issued severe punishments for the guilty and began instituting reforms. The mint reforms had the unintended consequence of encouraging the public to hoard the newer, finer issues, which created widespread scarcity of good coinage in circulation. In response, Luis Enriquez de Guzman, the Viceroy of Peru, took matters into his own hands by reopening the Lima mint in 1658. Decided unilaterally by Guzman without the permission of the Crown, this action ended the 66 year long hiatus of the Lima mint, which had been shuttered in favor of Potosi since 1592 due to the difficult journey between Lima and the silver mines at Cerro Rico. As soon as he was informed of the illegal reopening, the king ordered the mint to close once again, only 16 months after its reopening. The mint produced a rather singular series of coinage within this short span of time, featuring prominently the star symbol of Lima, the so-called "City of Kings". The examples of this unusual issue that survive today are of great rarity and numismatic interest. To view all items from the Pat Johnson Collection, click here.

From the Pat Johnson Collection.Ex. Kagin's 1983 ANA sale, August 1983, lot 1024.

Estimate: $4000 - $6000