Lot # 

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 Lot title and description

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1. 8 escudos, 1714J, slabbed PCGS AU-55. S-M30, CT-144, KM-57.2. Very choice full date and oMJ and crown, nearly full shield (off-center obverse), full and bold cross, one of the best 1714 8E I have ever seen, lustrous and fully Mint State despite the slab grade. From the Spanish 1715 Fleet, eastern coast of Florida. Estimate: $9,000-$12,000

2. 8 escudos, 1715J. S-M30, CT-145, KM-57.2; 26.9 grams. Choice, lustrous AU specimen with all four digits of the date visible plus a full shield (unusual to have both) and king’s ordinal V, good full cross on other side, typically blunted and filed edge (as made), lovely golden color, much less common than the 1711’s through 1714’s. From the Spanish 1715 Fleet, eastern coast of Florida. Estimate: $9,000-$12,500

3. 4 escudos, 1715J. S-M30, CT-234, KM-55.2; 13.4 grams. One of the best specimens known (if not THE best), with 100% bold and full date and oMJ, choice full cross, nearly full shield and crown, beautiful orange-gold color all over, AU or better. From the Spanish 1715 Fleet, eastern coast of Florida. Estimate: $10,000-$15,000

4. 1 escudo, 1702(L). S-M29a, CT-459, KM-51.1; 3.5 grams. Off-center strike that yields a 100% full and bold date (rarely seen) but sacrifices half the shield, flat spot on assayer but mintmark oXM all there, full cross with some flat areas, AU grade where struck up. From the Spanish 1715 Fleet, eastern coast of Florida. Estimate: $3,500-$4,750

5. 1 escudo, 1710J. S-M30, CT-465, KM-51.1; 3.4 grams. Very bold strike with 100% full and bold date (rare thus) and oXMJ, choice full cross, off-center shield, fully Mint State. From the Spanish 1715 Fleet, eastern coast of Florida. Estimate: $3,750-$5,000

6. 1 escudo, Philip V, assayer not visible (1711-1713J by style), unique flip-over double-strike. S-M30, CT-Type 99, KM-51.1; 3.4 grams. Very unusual specimen (first I have ever seen in gold cobs) with at least half of the obverse visible on the reverse (and vice versa) due to a flip-over double-strike (in fact, it is hard to tell which side is which!), but no flat spots, at least XF grade, very appealing to collectors of “error coins.” From the Spanish 1715 Fleet, eastern coast of Florida. Estimate: $2,000-$2,500

7. 8 escudos, 1699R, slabbed PCGS MS-62. S-L26, CT-50, KM-26.2. Typically perfectly round with much bold legend, full crown, full date above particularly bold waves, well-detailed full cross with curious die-crack across bottom two quadrants, lightly toned Mint State with some minor flat spots, a traditionally rare and desirable type-coin in top grade. From the Spanish 1715 Fleet, eastern coast of Florida. Estimate: $12,000-$15,000

8. 8 escudos, 1703H. S-L25a, CT-80, KM-38.1; 27.0 grams. Mint State (or thereabouts) and well struck (well centered and no doubling), this rare-date coin (missing in the State of Florida collection), was the jewel of the 2003 Tampa sale (see pedigree), in which it sold for $13,250, an unheard-of price at the time for post-Charles II. (Nowadays even common-date Philip V Lima 8E sell for over $10,000.) The crown and waves on this coin are particularly bold, but everything else (cross, pillars, date, even most of the legend) is not too shabby either. Lovely orange gold with a hint of toning. From the Spanish 1715 Fleet, eastern coast of Florida, and pedigreed to the U.S. Customs (Tampa, FL) auction of June 25, 2003. Estimate: $12,500-$17,500

9. 8 escudos, 1708H. S-L25a, CT-87, KM-38.1; 27.0 grams. Particularly evenly struck on a uniformly thick planchet, with bold full cross and waves, lots of legend, just a little bit doubled, AU grade with nice bits of white and brown encrustation here and there. From the Spanish 1715 Fleet, eastern coast of Florida. Estimate: $10,000-$15,000

10. 8 escudos, 1709M. S-L28, CT-89, KM-38.1; 27.0 grams. Scarce date, broad planchet with particularly nice pillars and waves, full but doubled cross, lots of bold legend, the assayer a bit weak (doubled) but appears to be M/H, XF with bits of encrustation. From the Spanish 1715 Fleet, eastern coast of Florida. Estimate: $8,000-$12,000

11. 8 escudos, 1710H. S- L25a, CT-90, KM-38.2; 26.8 grams. Choice full cross, bold legend (including a rare, full, second date 710 in the legend, which is usually off the planchet), full but lightly doubled pillars and waves, XF with reddish toning. From the Spanish 1715 Fleet, eastern coast of Florida. Estimate: $9,000-$12,500

12. 8 escudos, 1711(M). S-L28, CT-92, KM-38.2; 26.9 grams. Lustrous AU with full but slightly off-center cross and pillars-and-waves, bold king’s name PHILIP(PVS), spots of red toning. From the Spanish 1715 Fleet, eastern coast of Florida. Estimate: $8,000-$12,000

13. 8 escudos, 1712M, slabbed PCGS AU-58. S-L28, CT-93, KM-38.2. Broad planchet with bold and nearly full legends, lustrous Mint State (despite slab grade), bold full pillars-and-waves and cross-lions-castles, full crown and second date 712 in legend (the 2 curiously overpunched by the crown), some minor chattering on the pillars side and graininess on the cross side (as made) but otherwise just as nice as you can get. From the Spanish 1715 Fleet, eastern coast of Florida. Estimate: $9,500-$13,500

14. 8 escudos, 1727M. S-L28b, CT-109, KM-38.2; 26.9 grams. Beautifully bold full cross and pillars, bold second date in legend, slight doubling above pillars, matte orange color all over except for patch near edge on cross side that is lustrous yellow, AU or better, surely one of the best specimens ever recovered from the 1733 Fleet (and there haven’t been many). From the Spanish 1733 Fleet, Florida Keys. Estimate: $9,000-$12,000

15. 8 escudos, 1730/29(N). S-L29, CT-unlisted (cf. 112), KM-unlisted (cf. 38.2); 27.0 grams. Two full and bold dates, both with clear 30/29 (scarce), good full cross and pillars-and-waves, bold king’s name PHILIPP(VS), lustrous XF with some flat spots. Estimate: $6,000-$9,000

16. 8 escudos, 1739/8V/N. S-L30, CT-unlisted (cf. 122), KM-38.2; 27.0 grams. Beautiful even strike and high grade (at least AU), with well-centered pillars (clear overdate and over-assayer, partial second date in legend), full and well-detailed cross-lions-castles, king’s name PHILIPPV(S), lovely reddish toning. Estimate: $5,000-$8,000

17. 4 escudos, 1700H, slabbed PCGS MS-62. S-L25, CT-80, KM-25. Perfect full pillars-and-waves and cross-lions-castles on a small, round flan (perfectly centered), lightly toned and lustrous Mint State, choice specimen of a rare type. From the Spanish 1715 Fleet, eastern coast of Florida. Estimate: $12,000-$15,000

18. 4 escudos, 1750R, with cross side struck from 8E die. S-L31, CT-79c, KM-A47; 13.5 grams. Typically small, thick flan with well-centered strike, full cross that shows denomination •8• above it, clear date and assayer despite some flatness and doubling on the pillars side, lustrous Mint State with encrustation in crevices. From Nuestra Señora de la Luz, sunk in 1752 off Montevideo, Uruguay. Estimate: $7,000-$10,000

19. 2 escudos, 1703H, slabbed PCGS AU-58. S-L25a, CT-305, KM-36. Choice full cross-lions-castles with king’s name PHILIPPVS in legend, nice full pillars and crown but incomplete legends on that side, lustrous Mint State (despite the slab grade). From the Spanish 1715 Fleet, eastern coast of Florida. Estimate: $6,000-$8,000

20. 2 escudos, 1709M. S-L28, CT-310, KM-36; 6.7 grams. Gorgeous Mint State specimen with full and well-detailed cross-lions-castles and pillars-and-waves, much legend (including the king’s ordinal V, which helps you to distinguish the date from 1700), very lustrous. From the Spanish 1715 Fleet, eastern coast of Florida. Estimate: $6,500-$9,000

21. 1 escudo, 1697/6H, slabbed PCGS MS-62, finest known. S-L25, CT-unlisted (cf. 148), KM-unlisted (cf. 27). Absolutely perfect specimen, top grade and fully struck up (with the exception of maybe a few dots in the borders) on a broad flan, 100% Mint State with small bits of encrustation, the overdate egregiously missing in the major references even though all 1697’s that I know of are actually 1697/6. From the Spanish 1715 Fleet, eastern coast of Florida. Estimate: $6,000-$8,000

22. 1 escudo, 1705H. S-L25a, CT-426, KM-35; 3.3 grams. Lustrous Mint State on an oversized flan, with choice full castle, cross, •L• mintmark and •H• assayer, bold 5 in date (the 7 and 0 weaker), cute piece, scarce. From the Spanish 1715 Fleet, eastern coast of Florida. Estimate: $5,000-$7,000

23. 2 escudos, 162(2), no assayer, mintmark Sf, extremely rare and desirable as the first gold coin ever minted in the New World. S-C5, CT-38, KM-4.3; 6.7 grams. A newly discovered 7th-known specimen (“Sedwick Treasure Auction specimen”?) of this highly popular and extremely rare issue, first brought to light by Frank Sedwick in the 1980s as being the “first gold coin of the Americas.” There is still much unknown about the early products of the Colombian mints, but for now it is widely acknowledged that this issue was struck in Cartagena from dies prepared in Spain, which would explain why there is no assayer mark (although Lasser believes the small F is actually an E for Jacobo Emayr) and why the king’s ordinal is III, even though Philip III died in 1621. The date is only partially visible on this coin, but all known specimens are dated 1622. There is also some unfortunate flatness on the cross and in the shield, but otherwise the coin is rather nice, with bold Sf mintmark and lots of bold legend, particularly the king’s name and ordinal PHILIPPVS III. For reference, the other known specimens sold at auction (by Christie’s, Spink and Ponterio) for no less than $22,000 and as much as $29,000 each (the sixth-known specimen having sold by Ponterio just last month). Also, for the hardcore 1622-Fleet enthusiasts, it is worth noting that this coin was found and certified in 1980, pre-dating the 1982 specimen mentioned as “maybe the earliest to be recovered” by Ernie Richards in his book Shipwrecks and Their Coins, Volume 1—The 1622 Spanish Treasure Fleet (2007). Mint State, with bits of encrustation and flat areas as mentioned above. From the Santa Margarita, sunk in 1622 west of Key West, Florida, with Fisher photo-certificate #178-M-80. Estimate: $25,000-$35,000

24. 8 escudos, 1750/49S, slabbed PCGS VF-25, Restrepo Plate Coin. S-B27a, CT-unlisted (cf. 46), KM-unlisted (cf. 26). 100% full and bold date with obvious overdate (rare, six specimens known), Plate Coin in Restrepo and Lasser and with a long pedigree, round and thick planchet with choice full shield and cross, lots of legend, bold denomination 8 to right and right part of assayer S to left, AXF (despite the slab grade) with nicely contrasting toning on fields, some flat spots, also a rare type, as Colombian cob 8E were minted in only the years 1743-56 (total of 52 specimens known). Pedigreed to the following auctions: Ponterio, June, 1984; SBC, January, 1986; Ponterio, October, 1993; and SBC, September, 1997. Estimate: $7,000-$10,000

25. 4 escudos, 1740M, slabbed PCGS AU-50, Restrepo Plate Coin. S-B26, CT-252, KM-23. Very small, thick planchet (looks like a 2E at first) with choice full cross and shield, the latter filling the whole flan but the former so small as to allow a full date (also off-center), the first for this scarce denomination, which was only struck from 1740 to 1756, also the Plate Coin in Restrepo and Lasser, bold AU with sediment on fields. Estimate: $4,000-$6,000

26. 2 escudos, Philip IV (early 1650s), assayer not visible, slabbed NGC MS-62. S-B21, CT-Type 34, KM-4.1. Full and bold cross (off-center), nearly full and well-detailed shield and crown, bold denomination II (vertically) and assayer R to right, lustrous Mint State. From the Maravillas, sunk in 1656 off Grand Bahama Island, with shipwreck named printed inside slab, and pedigreed to the Goldberg auction of February 20-23, 2005, with lot-sticker, and with Sedwick photo-certificate. Estimate: $2,000-$2,500

27. 2 escudos, Philip IV, assayer not visible, mintmark •N•R• to right. S-B21, CT-Type 34, KM-4.1; 6.7 grams. Broad planchet with bold and nearly full but off-center shield and cross, full mintmark, king’s name PHILIPPVS, Mint State with lots of coral in crevices on cross side. From the Maravillas, sunk in 1656 off Grand Bahama Island. Estimate: $1,800-$2,200

28. 2 escudos, posthumous Charles II, no assayer. S-B24, CT-Type 4 (under Charles III of Austria), KM-14.2; 6.7 grams. Very uneven planchet, with only about half the shield and cross (otherwise flat), bold CA of king’s name, edge-split, lustrous Mint State. From the Spanish 1715 Fleet, each coast of Florida, with Fisher photo-certificate #3109. Estimate: $1,500-$2,000

29. 2 escudos, 1712, no assayer, slabbed PCGS MS-62. S-B24, CT-14 (under Charles III Pretender), KM-14.2. Very choice, bold and 100% full date due to poor centering (but bold cross still nearly full), nice and nearly full shield, top grade (high Mint State), with luster and light toning. From the Spanish 1715 Fleet, eastern coast of Florida. Estimate: $3,000-$3,500

30. 2 escudos, 1734(M). S-B26, CT-370, KM-17.2; 6.8 grams. Perfectly bold four-digit date, nice full shield and cross and tressure (well centered), nearly full crown, part of king’s name in legend, lightly toned XF. Estimate: $2,600-$3,000

31. 2 escudos, 1740(M), mintmark •F• to left. S-B26, CT-376, KM-17.2; 6.7 grams. Weak but certain 40 of date, bold mintmark F and king’s ordinal V, full but partially flat shield and cross, lightly toned AXF with sediment in crevices. Estimate: $1,800-$2,200

32. 2 escudos, 15(89-91), assayer Gothic P. CT-Type 45, Cay-Type 76; 6.7 grams. Beautifully red-toned XF+ with full and bold S-II-Gothic P to left, 15(??) date to right of full shield, good full cross, minor flat spots near edge. Estimate: $1,300-$1,700

33. 2 escudos, 1595(B). CT-71, Cay-4131; 6.8 grams. Broad-planchet XF+ with full 1595 date to right of full shield, choice full cross, peripheral flatness, golden yellow with red highlights. Estimate: $1,500-$2,000

34. 2 escudos, 1619G. CT-33, Cay-5008; 6.7 grams. Small, thick planchet with bold full S-G to left above king’s ordinal III in legend, full 16 and bottom half of 19 of date (clear), good full cross and nearly full shield, XF with reddish toning. Estimate: $1,300-$1,700

35. 2 escudos, Philip III, assayer G. CT-Type 15, Cay-Type 81; 6.7 grams. Very small flan (but proper weight), with full S-G but only half the shield and even less of the cross, VF. Estimate: $500-$750

36. 2 escudos, (16)22, assayer not visible. CT-120a, Cay-Type 122; 6.7 grams. Broad and odd-shaped planchet with beautiful full shield, nearly full cross, flat near the edge, lovely butter-yellow gold, nearly AU. Estimate: $1,200-$1,700

37. 1 escudo, Charles-Joanna, assayer Gothic P to left, mintmark S to right. CT-43, Cay-3148; 3.4 grams. Typically broad, thin flan, with nearly full legends (full bold KAROLVS) and perfect inner details, lustrous XF+ with hints of toning. Estimate: $900-$1,200