Page 154 - Treasure, World & U.S. Coin Auction 17

Lima Silver Cobs

Early Pillars Type

711. Lima, Peru, 8 reales, Philip II, assayer R (Rincón), extremely rare and important first “dollar” coin of 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 very rare and desirable in our time. The Potosí Rincón 8R,
made in 1575, is the commonest of the three, with just a few dozen known, struck shortly before Alonso Rincón’s death; at the other end of
the scale is the Mexican Rincón 8R, of which only three are known from a more or less experimental run in 1538 (see our Auction #16 for
the latest example), due to reported difficulties in making them. In between is the Lima Rincón 8R, like the present specimen, with a known
population under ten and highly coveted as the first “dollar” made in South America, struck in 1569 without proper authorization and quickly
discontinued. The present specimen, offered here for the first time, is unpublished and in fact was struck from previously unknown dies.

The previously known dies were classified by Cayon as Type I, with motto abbreviated as PL-VSV-LT, and Type II, with PL-VSVL-
TR. Both Types can be found mated with obverse dies that show the king’s name as PHILIPVS or (erroneously) PHILPVS, corresponding to
nd
th
ornaments in the crown that either all match or change to tulips on the 2 and 4 points. The present specimen is not only a new Type, with
full motto as PLV-SVLT-RA, but also a new obverse die, with matching ornaments yet correct spelling of king’s name.
This new specimen is also among the finest of the issue, with no doubling or flatness of any significance, well centered and beautifully
toned. The crown and shield and pillars are all exceptional. The surfaces do show traces of very light porosity (net VF), but not to the point of
significant weight loss, so we suspect that it was struck below standard to begin with, a problem known to have contributed to the rapid dis-
continuation of these coins. After all, the historically best two specimens (see below) were each under 27 grams also and had no corrosion at all.

For price comparison we think it is fair to cite those two best known examples, commonly known as the “F.C.C. Boyd specimen,”
sold in the Millennia auction (Goldberg, May 2008) for $240,000 plus buyer’s fee (later sold for $170,000 plus buyer’s fee in 2011), and the
“Sellschopp specimen,” sold in the Swiss Bank Corp. auction of September 1988 for 180,000 francs = $118,421 plus buyer’s fee (later sold
for 150,000 francs = $103,448 plus buyer’s fee in 1991). Regardless of what it realizes now, doubtless this new specimen will find a proper
home in a collection of great distinction.
S-L1; KM-13; CT-138. 25.00 grams.

Estimate: $35,000-$50,000.

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