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PERU, Lima, gold cob 8 escudos, 1725 M, Louis I, rare, NGC AU details / obv tooled, ex-Almenara.

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money / Cobs - Gold Start Price:7,000.00 USD Estimated At:10,000.00 - 15,000.00 USD
PERU, Lima, gold cob 8 escudos, 1725 M, Louis I, rare, NGC AU details / obv tooled, ex-Almenara.
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PERU, Lima, gold cob 8 escudos, 1725 M, Louis I, rare, NGC AU details / obv tooled, ex-Almenara. S-L28a; Bustos-L8E.25; Cal-62; Fr-11; KM-40. 26.93 grams. Very bold full pillars with all central details clear plus a bold 25 second date in legend, also good full cross-lions-castles with clear bottom half of LVDOVICVS in legend, contrastingly red-toned all over, the stated tooling no more than scratches to remove deep toning around some of the pillars-side details, overall a very desirable example of this popular one-year posthumous issue. Pedigreed to the Almenara Collection (stated on label).
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The Almenara Collection of Peruvian Gold Cobs


Peruvian gold cobs are some of the most prized hand-struck gold coins minted in the New World. Their
beautiful design and execution have long made them popular. While the 8 escudos cobs are very collectible
and available over all the years of production, the smaller denominations are much less common, and in fact
can be exceedingly rare. Within the Peruvian series spanning over fifty years of production from 1696 to
1750, there are probably fewer than one hundred examples of 1 escudos (including the twelve in the State of
Florida Collection). The thirteen 1 escudos in this auction represent the largest collection ever offered and
present a rare purchase opportunity. Of the thirteen in our auction, eight are unique (lots 50-54 and lots 56-
58) and some dates are being offered for the first time (lots 50, 53, 54, 56, and 57). They span the years of
production starting with a 1699 R (lot 47) and ending with a 1750 R (lot 59). Almost all are the finest—and
sometimes only—examples in the NGC census.
The design of the 1 escudo pieces is simple: On one side is a castle in the center flanked by an L mintmark to
the left and an assayer mark to the right. The date is below. The cross on the other side contains crossbars
and round tressures encircling them. Single x-marks are within each quadrant of the cross. Throughout the
years of production, there were numerous (sometimes yearly) small design changes of extra dots or teardrops
(from 1716 onward, see lot 50) and a large design change of a cross above the castle (again from 1716
onward). In 1733 there was a design change (see lot 54) with an addition of two more crosses above the
castle. In 1750, the last year of production (see lot 59), there was a striking addition of legend lettering on the
castle side, made possible by reducing the size of the design, and the lettering read ET YNDIARVM REX.
There is no evidence of lettering on the cross side, though. What’s interesting, too, is the frequency of
overdates (lots 48, 49, 50, 51, 54, 55, 57, and 58).
The Almenara Collection also includes six 2 escudos cobs dated from 1704 to 1748, the rarest of which is a
unique 1725 M from the one-year reign of Louis I (lot 44). This 2 escudos plus two others from the collection
(lots 45 and 46) are unique. The Collection also features an 8 escudos of Louis I (lot 34).
Some of the interesting design changes in 2 escudos involve the ending of legends. At the beginning of
production, the shield legend ended in bulky HISPANIARVM and the pillars legend ended in REX. Under
Philip V, the shield legend was abbreviated to HISPA (lot 43), HISPAN (lot 40), HISPANIA, HISPANI, or
even ISPANIA (lot 41) depending on the year. REX was still used on the pillars side apart from 1705 (lot 41),
in which REXA was used for one year only until 1709. With a pillars design change in 1709, ANO with some
form of the date replaced REX (lot 43), except for one year in 1711. There are even instances where the
cross-side legend starts at the bottom! Because of the low number of coins minted in the 2 escudos
denomination, there are not very many instances of multiple designs within a given year.
Several shipwrecks are represented in the Almenara Collection. From the 1715 Fleet, there are two 1 escudos
(lots 48 and 49) and one 2 escudos (lot 41). There is one 2 escudos (lots 43) from the Loosdrecht (1719), and
there are two 4 escudos (lots 38 and 39) from the Luz (1752).
Perhaps what is most striking about Peruvian gold cobs is their unique design, not struck at any other Old
World or New World Spanish mint. In fact, their inner design never changed except for ornamentation. It was
certainly a formula for success. The execution of design also sets them apart from other New World mints
with well-centered, well-struck specimens the norm. No wonder collectors love them!
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