1399

PHILIPPINES, GUAM, and the MARIANA ISLANDS (Spanish East Indies), cast 2 Reales-sized Proclamation

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money / World Coins By Country Start Price:12,000.00 USD Estimated At:25,000.00 - 50,000.00 USD
PHILIPPINES, GUAM, and the MARIANA ISLANDS (Spanish East Indies), cast 2 Reales-sized Proclamation
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PHILIPPINES, GUAM, and the MARIANA ISLANDS (Spanish East Indies), cast 2 reales-sized proclamation medal, Ferdinand VI, 1747, unique, PCGS VF20, ex-Prieto, MHE Plate. MHE-233 (as Maracaibo?) 6.05 grams.

Unique and historically important cast silver proclamation medal issued to commemorate the ascension of Ferdinand VI, distributed during the royal proclamation ceremonies in Guam, the Mariana Islands, and Manila. Cast in Mexico and presented in 1747, this piece features the king’s bust on the obverse with legend FERDINAND VI HISP ET IND REX 1747, and a striking reverse showing a Manila Galleon between pillars and a radiant sunface with five rays and five stars that, along with an abbreviated Latin motto in the legend, refer to the five previous Ferdinands in his lineage.

The surfaces show bold detail with rich toning, darker in the recesses for strong contrast. Holed and worn from use as a pendant—likely since its original presentation—this piece carries tangible evidence of its ceremonial function. Previously misattributed to Maracaibo, it can now be confidently linked to the Spanish East Indies through contemporary documentation.

A unique medal of the utmost importance for collectors of Spanish colonial Asia.

Pedigreed to the Tomás Prieto Collection (Aureo & Calicó auction of May 2020, with original lot tag and card 127), Plate Coin 233 (as Maracaibo) in Medallas de la Historia de España - Volume II: De Carlos II a Carlos III (2000), the catalog of the collection of José María Ramón San Pedro, compiled by Juan Claudio de Ramón and edited by Isabel Rodríguez Casanova and Alberto J. Cantó García.

Special Article: A 1747 Spanish proclamation medal for Ferdinand VI in the Spanish East Indies (Philippines, Guam, and the Mariana Islands) by Carlos Jara, with editorial contributions by Alan Luedeking and Daniel Sedwick


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