Watch List notes:

Uruguay
Charles IV gold Montevideo 8 Escudos Proclamation Medal 1789 AU, Montevideo mint, Medina-198 (unlisted in gold). Essentially as manufactured with slightly burnished surfaces (as made, to improve the post-cast appearance) and practically no highpoint friction evidence. Hand filed edge, as made. Weight of 27.93 grams and specific gravity of 14.3 thus a ca. 71% gold copper alloy. The latter fineness is compatible with the copperish color on the area to the left of the tower on the reverse where a metal test was performed long ago. An account of the proclamation ceremony of Charles IV in Montevideo can be found in the rare booklet "Relacion de las fiestas celebradas por la ciudad de San Felipe y Santiago de Montevideo en la proclamacion del Señor Rey Don Carlos IV" (Madrid, 1791). The ceremony took place on the 4 sup th /sup of November with all due formalities and the usual celebrations, including the manufacture and gift of medals for the occasion. These proclamation medals were cast, taking the 1789 proclamation medal of Seville (Herrera-95) bearing the bust of Charles IV as a model or mould for the obverse, and a rather crude rendition of the coat of arms of the city for the reverse. The earliest – and essentially contemporary – reference for these medals is the work of O'Crouley who lists the very scarce silver variant (page 421 in "Dialogo sobre la utilidad de las medallas antiguas...", Madrid 1795) and was quoted subsequently by Perez Varela (1863), Herrera (1882) and Medina (1917). A line drawing of it is also plated as #10 in B. Betts' work "Some Undescribed Spanish American Proclamation Pieces" (1898) The earliest references forthis gold variant found by the cataloger are the specimens in the Bartolome Mitre collection (see page 12, footnote 1 in his "Nuevas comprobaciones históricas apropósito de historia argentina" where he indicates that a "specimen in gold (of that medal) resides in my collection", and in the Alejandro Rosa collection (see No. 10 in his "Estudios Numismáticos. Aclamaciones de Los Monarcas Católicos en El Nuevo Mundo", Buenos Aires 1895). The recent Silvera Antunez catalog plates a different specimen of this gold proclamation piece weighing 24.2 grams – significantly less than the present specimen, this variation a common occurrence on cast issues-, listed as "unique". He also references the aforementioned gold specimen of the Rosa collection (presumably the same as his plate medal) and two specimens in the Andres Lamas collection (lots 3-4 in the "Judicial de la biblioteca perteneciente a la sucesion del Dr Andrés Lamas" by Collet, Buenos Aires, 1905) noted as "silver gilt" but is apparently unaware of the Mitre piece. It is likely that the latter is the presently offered exampleAll Spanish Colonial proclamation medals struck in gold are rare. All Spanish Colonial proclamation medals struck in Uruguay are at least very scarce. It is thus no surprise that the present Montevideo gold piece is extremely rare. The cataloger considers it safe to state that confirmed specimens of this rarity are three or less based on the bibliographic revision summarized previously. It is indisputably one of the rarest proclamation medals in the entire Spanish Colonial series. While very few other comparable pieces of the period may match its rarity, it is unlikely that many of those will match its charm and significance. The present specimen may well represent the first such offering for public consideration since the aforementioned ex-Rosa specimen was sold in 1919 in Buenos Aires and, as such, an opportunity that most specialists in this fascinating area will not want to miss.

Estimate: 20000-25000 USD