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Potosí, Bolivia, cob 8 reales, (16)45T, rare.

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money / World Coins - World Start Price:400.00 USD Estimated At:500.00 - 750.00 USD
Potosí, Bolivia, cob 8 reales, (16)45T, rare.
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This item SOLD at 2009 Oct 21 @ 09:20UTC-4 : AST/EDT
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Potosí, Bolivia, cob 8 reales, (16)45T, rare. S-P30, KM-19a, CT-492. 26.3 grams. A very tantalizing coin that Mark thought was 1625 (a date not yet confirmed to exist in 8 reales) because it shows a very full and clear 5 with a faint but certain horizontal line for the penultimate digit; but a careful study of the whole coin reveals its true attribution. The key to the puzzle is the lions and castles. In 1622 the mint changed from normal rampant lions to something flatter, at least for a few years, and we do not see the normal lions again till... 1645! It is not known why in that one year the mint went back to the normal lions after implementation of grander "furry" lions in the early 1640s, a style of lions which continued well into the pillars-and-waves period starting in 1652, but many clear-date specimens of 1645 are known with the normal lions to prove the issue. Complicating matters is the fact that both the mid-1620s and the mid-1640s are crudely struck coins, like this one, which is doubled and flat in places. For its period this is actually a nice specimen, attractively toned Fine and with most data readable; we just cannot agree with Mark and call it 1625. Pedigreed to the Mark Bir collection.