3197

0940- Bolivia. Royal 8 Reales, 1727 P-Y (Potosi)

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money / World Coins - World Start Price:34,000.00 USD Estimated At:70,000.00 - 80,000.00 USD
0940- Bolivia. Royal 8 Reales, 1727 P-Y (Potosi)
Bolivia. "Royal" 8 Reales, 1727 P-Y (Potosi). WR-10; KM-R35. 26.87 grams. Louis I, 1724. Crowned Cross of Jerusalem, quartering arms of Castille and Leon, all in quadrilobe. Reverse: Crowned pillars over waves. Well struck and centered, on small flan of excellent metal. Flan nice and round. Three dates visible. Legends nearly completely visible, and rare thus. A very handsome "Royal" of itself, let alone for this ephemeral king too. Extremely Rare - the rarest of all the Spanish kings. NGC graded MS-61. .

Philip V, the first Bourbon king of Spain, abdicated his throne in favor of his son Louis I in 1724. Unfortunately, young king Louis died the same year after a reign of only 7 months, with Philip resuming rule once more. Louis' coins are the Classic Rarity of the the vast Imperial Spanish coinages, even though the Potosi mint struck cobs in his name from 1725 to 1727. Mexico, the only other country to issue in his name, struck 8 Reales of the earlier type from 1724 to1725. To date, this is the finest 8 Reales of Louis I (Note: the holed example in Krause, p. 57, realized $30,000 in a Ponterio sale in the late 80's or early 90's).
Estimated Value $70,000 - 80,000.

Provenance: Illustrated in Money of the World, coin 150. Ex Millennia, Lot 940.