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 Lot title and description

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GOLD COBS, FEATURING SELECTIONS FROM THE JOSEPH R. LASSER COLLECTION OF COLOMBIAN COBS

COLOMBIA

1

Bogotá, 2 escudos, (1)635, NRA to left (assayer Anuncibay).

S-B20, RL-M50S-13, KM-4.1

Clear 63 and bottom half of 5 of date, not a rare date but then only about 10% of all Colombian gold cobs show any visible date! The shield and cross are full, the crown nearly so, and the thickness of the planchet is typically variable, with hairline edge-split. Lustrous AU.

Probably from the "Mesuno hoard" of ca. 1636.

$1,400-$1,700

2

Bogotá, 2 escudos, (1)638, NRA to left (assayer Anuncibay).

S-B20, RL-M50S, KM-4.1

Tiny but clear bottom half of 38 of date (rare), bold assayer A, full shield and cross with spots of flatness, AXF.

$1,200-$1,500

3

Bogotá, 2 escudos, 1676, NR to left, assayer to right not visible, clear date.

S-B21a or B21b, RL-M66S-4, KM-14.1

Bold strike with full 16 and bottom half of 76 of date, full but doubled mintmark, choice full shield and cross, bold king's ordinal II in legend. Just a shame that the right side of the shield is not visible, because in this year (1676) you have Pedro Ramos followed (after his death) by two interim assayers, José de Olmos and Gaspar de los Reyes, whose marks have not been confirmed.  In any case the date is extremely rare and this is the only 2E specimen known to us. Toned XF.

$1,200-$1,500

4

Bogotá, 2 escudos, (1)687, assayer sM to right.

S-B22b, RL-M66S-8, KM-14.1

Bold bottom half of 87 of date and clear sM assayer-mark to right of full shield (good full crown and cross too), the cross side a match to a full-date 1687 of assayer G recently sold at auction, with characteristic x's in the dimples of the treasure. Previously the sM monogram was attributed (by Lasser and Sedwick) to assayer Soto Maldonado of 1677, but now that we have a positive date match to 1687 we can assert that it belongs to newly discovered assayer José Martí of 1687 (6 months only), whose one-known silver coin shows an extended mark of IeMs (it is not known why he used an s unless his name was actually longer, like "Martínes" but abbreviated in the archival records). Extremely rare, one of only three sM specimens known. XF.

$1,600-$2,000

5

Bogotá, 2 escudos, (1)68(7), assayer sM to right.

S-B22b, RL-M66S-8, KM-14.1

As above but with last digit of date not visible. Bold and nearly full cross and shield, clear sM and part of king's name (CA)RO(LVS) in legend. Extremely rare, one of only three sM specimens known. XF+ with flat spots.

$1,400-$1,800

6

Bogotá, 2 escudos, (17)2?/0, no mintmark or assayer-mark (Arce).

S-B24a, RL-M80S, KM-17.2

Choice full cross and shield, the former with characteristic dots in the rings outside the treasure, and the latter with two dots (denomination?) to the right of the shield in lieu of an assayer or mintmark. The tiny 0 of the date is full but is preceded by a mess that looks like a small 2 (over something) following a large 2. Rare, as is any dated Colombian 2 escudos. Lustrous AXF.

$1,200-$1,500

7

Bogotá, 2 escudos, (1)731, F to left, S to right (assayer Sánchez).

S-B25b, RL-M80S, KM-17.2

Great full cross (slightly off-center) and full and bold shield with assayer •S• to right (weak mintmark F to left), bold 73 and most of final 1 of date (the initial 1 not punched into the die), with sediment in crevices and a high-grade (XF+) sea-salvage "look."

Probably from the 1733 Fleet.

$1,200-$1,500

8

Bogotá, 2 escudos, 1735, mintmark F to left (assayer Molano).

S-B26, RL-M80S, KM-17.2

Small, thick planchet (6.5 grams) with bold and full cross, weak but certain date, lots of contrast. Toned AVF.

$1,000-$1,300

9

Bogotá, 2 escudos, (1)736, mintmark F to left (assayer Molano).

S-B26, RL-M80S, KM-17.2

Bold 36 of date (rare), with full but tiny cross, full shield, broad planchet that has been slightly rounded from probable jewelry mounting. Fine+.

$1,000-$1,300

10

Bogotá, 1 escudo, late Philip V, assayer not visible (style of assayer Molano, 1732-44).

S-B26, RL-M78S-12, KM-22

Cute coin with full cross and shield, high grade (XF) but slightly messy strike.

$700-$1,000

11

Bogotá, 1 escudo, late Philip V or early Ferdinand VI, assayer not visible, struck with 2-escudos dies.

Unique error, the thickness and weight of the coin correct for a 1 escudo but the dies (with full and bold cross and nearly full shield) apparently meant for a 2 escudos. VF.

$700-$1,000

MEXICO

12

Mexico City, 8 escudos, full-date 1714, oMJ, mounted in a heavy, elegant 18K yellow-gold bezel for necklace with two cabochon emeralds flanking the bale at top.

S-M30, KM-57.2, CT-144

Choice AU specimen with full cross and shield and very clear date and mintmark-assayer oMJ, as well as the king's ordinal V and most of the denomination VIII—in short, everything you could ask for in a Mexican 8E cob, additionally mounted (expensively) for appeal to the jewelry-buying public.

From the 1715 Fleet, with Sedwick certificate.

$9,000-$12,000

PERU

13

Lima, 8 escudos, 1712M.

S-L28, KM-38.2, CT-93

A choice and lustrous Mint State piece with a very bold and full second date 712 in the legend (usually not so clear), plus (and this is rare) a full king's name PHILIPPVS!  The cross is also quite nice, even if a bit off-center (hence the full king's name).

From the 1715 Fleet, with Historic Treasure Management (Jim L. Willsey) photo-certificate (undated).

$7,500-$8,500

14

Lima, 8 escudos, 1712M.

S-L28, KM-38.2, CT-93

Scarce variant with obverse legend rotated 180 degrees (bold king's ordinal V), nicely centered full cross, full but slightly doubled pillars, attractively round planchet, with very minor contact marks on edge from former mounting in jewelry. XF.

From the 1715 Fleet, with Sedwick certificate.

$7,000-$8,000

15

Lima, 8 escudos, 1716M.

S-L28, KM-38.2, CT-99

Dots, dots, and more dots! Typical of its period, this coin shows rows and columns of dots (instead of straight lines) on the pillars side, plus also three dots each outside the quadrants of the cross in addition to the usual border (which is doubled, hence even more dots!), with nice full cross and particularly bold waves, large planchet with full king's name PHILIPPVS, possibly salvaged. Lustrous AU.

$4,750-$5,500

16

Lima, 8 escudos, 1749R, struck on a 4E planchet.

S-L31, Onza-570

This unique error is sure to be a controversial coin, so let’s get it straight up front: I believe this coin is genuine, and so does Calicó and a host of other experts! The pillars-side details are odd, but then again 1749 was a year of change and it is not really known what all the 4E punches looked like. The fact is that the weight is right (13.5 grams), the cut is right, and the gold appears to be of the correct fineness—and it was not cast. The pillars and cross are both full and well centered and there is even some old sediment in the crevices. AXF.

Plate coin in Calicó's "Onza" Main Book (1986) and La Onza (2004), and pedigreed to the collection of Carlos A. Elizondo, Jr.

$5,000-$6,000

17

Cuzco, 2 escudos, 1698M.

S-CZ1, KM-28, CT-104

A very lustrous and crisply detailed coin, both sides well centered, but the pillars side a bit crude, on a small and thick "Bogotá cut" planchet, generally a scarce issue. Mint State.

From the 1715 Fleet, with Sedwick certificate.

$7,500-$8,500

18

Lima, 1 escudo, 1698H.

S-CZ1, KM-A27, CT-146

Gorgeous little piece with full castle and cross, bold full •L• and •H• and clear upper half of date 698, some sediment in crevices, hence possibly from the 1715 Fleet, although its Eliasberg pedigree probably pre-dates the Fleet finds, but do note that the State of Florida does not have a specimen so it must be rare. AU.

Pedigreed to the Eliasberg collection and accompanied by an NGC photo-certificate (XF-40, which is too low in our opinion).

$6,000-$7,000

SPAIN

19

Seville, 2 escudos, 1619G.

CT-33

Although this coin did not come from the Atocha (1622), it probably came from another wreck (for there is lots of sediment in the crevices) and it is identical to the few gold cobs that did come from the Atocha, yet with added rarity for the fact that it shows a clear date of 161 with the tail of the 9, also a full mintmark-assayer S•G to the left of a full but slightly messy shield, good full cross, lots of sediment. Crude AXF.

$1,250-$1,750