75

Gold "oro corriente" nugget, 6.52 grams, with rampant lion stamp of Charles I of Spain.

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money / Coins: Shipwreck Ingots Start Price:4,000.00 USD Estimated At:5,000.00 - 10,000.00 USD
Gold  oro corriente  nugget, 6.52 grams, with rampant lion stamp of Charles I of Spain.
CURRENT BID
0.00USD
ENTER YOUR MAXIMUM ABSENTEE BID[?]
You must bid at least
4,000.00USD
USD
4,000.00 x 1 unit = 4,000.00USDApplicable fees & taxes are added at checkout.
[?]Live Online Auction Starts In 2025 Nov 13 @ 09:30 (UTC-05:00 : EST/CDT)
By registering for our auction, you agree to the terms and conditions.
Gold "oro corriente" nugget, 6.52 grams, with rampant lion stamp of Charles I of Spain. Roughly ½" x 3/8" x 1/8". A small and rounded alluvial nugget with one face stamped with a fully visible rampant lion (probably a local rendition as unlike anything in traditional Spanish heraldry) within a plain circle, with traces of indistinct lettering above, the opposite face displaying a typical flattening and rippling effect from the striking on the other side (like countermarks on later coins), confirming its deliberate preparation for trade use. XRF analysis confirms 22K fineness with multiple trace elements, consistent with early New World alluvial sources. The weight is close to the 2 escudos standard, showing clear intent to align with recognized gold monetary units at a time when gold coinage was not yet being struck in Spanish America (early 1500s, under Charles I of Spain / Charles V of the Holy Roman Empire), when the conquistadores were adapting raw gold into regulated trade units to facilitate exchange, comparable to the examples shown on pages 20-21 of in García-Barneche's Tumbaga Saga (2nd ed., 2018). While most known specimens show a crown or letter with fineness, this example with a lion device seems even earlier in conception, reflecting the first improvisations to validate gold for commerce, and for now it is the only example known with this mark, also unique as a nugget versus being cut from a poured ingot, a highly important survivor from the transitional bullion-to-coin improvisation that represents the first gold traded in the Americas.