Written by the TreasureGuide for the exclusive use of the Treasure Beaches Report.
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| Rare Lima 8 Reales. Lot 614 in Current Sedwick Auction. |
If you want to know what makes a coin valuable, this lot provides the answers. It already has a bid of $45,000.
Here is the lot description.
PERU, Lima, 8 reales, Philip II, assayer R (Rincón) to left, king's name as PHILPVS, legends HISPA / NIARVM, motto PL-VSVL-TR, very rare, NGC AU details / environmental damage, ex-Ugaz, ex-Ponte. S-L1; KM-13; Cal-651. 25.57 grams. Superb full inner details with nearly full crown and legends on a full and round flan, no doubling, the interiors bold but weaker in peripheries (king's name clear), darkly toned with only a hint of surface porosity, among the finest known of this important unauthorized issue that represents the first "dollar" coin struck in South America.
The three primary cob-producing mints in the Americas—Mexico, Lima and Potosí—all started with an assayer named Rincón, and at each mint the Rincóns produced 8 reales in very small quantities, making them all very rare and desirable in our time. The Potosí Rincón 8R, made in 1575, is the commonest of the three, with a few dozen known, struck shortly before Alonso Rincón’s death; at the other end of the scale is the Mexican Rincón 8R (struck under Francisco Rincón, Alonso’s brother), of which only three are known from what had to be an experimental run in 1538, due to the reported difficulty in making such large silver coins. In between in rarity and chronology is the Lima Rincón 8R (struck under Alonso Rincón), like the present specimen, with a known population of seventeen and highly coveted as the first “dollar” made in South America, struck in 1569 without proper authorization and quickly discontinued.
To categorize the die varieties of these Lima 8 reales, there are two distinguishing characteristics on the obverse and two on the reverse:
Obverse (shield side): king’s name spelled either PHILIPVS or PHILPVS, with two types of flowers in the crown above the shield, either three of the same kind or the middle flower larger than the other two flowers
Reverse (pillars side): legend continuation as either -NIARVM or -RVM, and motto as one of three versions: PL-VSVL-TR, PL-VSV-LT, or PLV-SVLT-RA
Based on these characteristics, we have identified three obverse dies and four reverse dies, as follows:
Obverse:
1. Legend lettering of PHILIPVS . II . D . HISPA, three equal flowers in crown (seven known)
2. Legend lettering of PHILPVS . II . D . HISPA, three equal flowers in crown (one known)
3. Legend lettering of PHILPVS . II . D . HISPA, middle flower larger and different from other two flowers (eight known)
Reverse:
A. Legend NIARVM . ETINDIARVM . REX, motto PL-VSVL-TR (seven known)
B. Legend NIARVM . ETINDIARVM . REX, motto PL-VSV-LT (six known)
C. Legend NIARVM . ETINDIARVM . REX, motto PLV-SVLT-RA (two known)
D. Legend RVM . ETINDIARVM . REX, motto PL-VSVL-TR (one known)
Known combinations:
1. 1A (one known)
2. 1B (four known)
3. 1C (two known)
4. 2D (one known)
5. 3A (six known)
6. 3B (two known)
7. Unreadable
The present example is 3A, meaning that the king’s name is spelled without a second I and the middle flower in the crown is larger than the ones that flank it, while on the other side the legend begins with NIARVM and the motto reads PL-VSVL-TR.
Featured on back cover of printed catalog. Pedigreed to the Jorge Ugaz Collection and to the L.R. Ponte Collection (stated on label).















