A Mexican 8 reales coin has sold with strong results as part of the renowned Huntington Collection of Spanish Colonial Coins, which was offered in London on March 6.
 The 1729 8 reales coin (above) sold for $34,576 - an example from 1732 made $40,000 in May 2008 |
The royal 8 reales coin, from the reign of King Felipe V (1700-1746), sold with a robust 15% increase on its £20,000 estimate at £23,000 ($34,576). Dated 1729, it is a fantastic example that originates from just a few years before milled coinage was introduced to Spain's "new world" mints in 1732.
It was struck on a full round flan and is in good to very fine condition for the issue, although pierced at the top.
The coin is an ancestor of the familiar Spanish pillar coins and the successor of the hastily struck Spanish colonial cobs, which were mass produced after the discovery of large silver deposits in the Spanish colonies.
The auction's second highest results were seen by one such undated cob, which originates from Columbia under the rule of Felipe V.
The cob was produced using a chunk of silver cut to weight rather than a planchet, yet revealed a surprising amount of detail for an example of its type. This strong striking warranted an outstanding 3,566% increase on its £300 estimate, with a sale price of £11,000 ($16,512).
The Huntington Collection, containing 37,895 coins, was originally sold in its entirety through Sotheby's in March 2012 by the Hispanic Society of America (HSA). The present sale represents just part of the collection, with the same auction house selling its Portuguese and Portuguese colonial coins in November 2012 with similar success.
Also on March 6, a new auction record was set for Australia's Holey Dollar, the nation's first coin, which was produced from a variety of Spanish colonial coins donated by the British government.
Paul Fraser Collectibles has a stunning collection of coins for sale, including a line-up of rare Italian pieces that is led by an Alfonso I D'este (1505-1534) gold double ducat - one of only five known to exist.
