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Santiago, Chile, bust 1 escudo, Ferdinand VI (bust of Philip V), 1755/4J, unique and unlisted, ex-El

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money / World Coins - Gold Start Price:19,000.00 USD Estimated At:20,000.00 - 25,000.00 USD
Santiago, Chile, bust 1 escudo, Ferdinand VI (bust of Philip V), 1755/4J, unique and unlisted, ex-El
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This item SOLD at 2010 Oct 21 @ 22:39UTC-4 : AST/EDT
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Santiago, Chile, bust 1 escudo, Ferdinand VI (bust of Philip V), 1755/4J, unique and unlisted, ex-Eliasberg. KM-unl. (cf. A6); CT-unl. (type 68). 3.3 grams. This mint is famous for its ultra-rare pillar dollars, but specialists know that rarer still are the Ferdinand VI 1 escudos, which were struck in very low numbers (680 pieces in 1754, 553 pieces in 1755, and 108 pieces in 1756, quantities so low as to be comparable to the gold cobs of Guatemala) and of which ONLY TWO are still known to exist: A 1754 in VF condition plated by Calicó-Trigo in their Numismatica española (9th edition, 1998, p. 453, #208) and the present 1755/4 in nice AXF condition (lightly toned and problem-free). These coins are even rarer than the famous pillar 4R 1760 (4 known), the bust 2E 1758 (3 known), or the "rat-nose" type 4E of Charles III (about 10 known). While the 1754 has never been offered for sale, this 1755/4 last surfaced in the Eliasberg Collection, where it was estimated at $4000-$7000, opened at $2400, and hammered at $17,000 ($19,550 with the buyer's fee). Needless to say, this type was absent in the famous collections of Norweb and Medina and the recent Caballero de las Yndias collection. It is the cover coin in the reference work Las Primeras Acuñaciones de la Casa de Moneda de Santiago de Chile, 1749-1772, where it is also extensively referenced on pages 85 and 249. Serious specialists in Chilean numismatics will not want to miss this opportunity to acquire a true trophy of the utmost rarity. Pedigreed to the Eliasberg collection (lot #1334).