Mexico 1799-Mo 1/4 real
The first specimen was lot 1200 in Sedwick sale 25 (Winter Park, FL, May 2019), where it did not sell. The catalog description[1] noted, "Mexico City, Mexico, 1/4 real, 1799/8, NGC MS 63. KM-62; CT-1398. Choice strike and nice luster, starting to tone. NGC #4825086-005." The second specimen was lot 23176 in Stack's Bowers NYINC sale (New York, January 2020), where it sold for $456. The catalog description[3] noted, "MEXICO. 1/4 Real, 1799/8-Mo. Mexico City Mint. Charles IV. NGC MS-64. An uncommonly nice cuatrillo with bold overdate, bold strike, and attractive gray toning with magenta highlights." This specimen, the smallest silver coin struck in colonial times, is an example of a type struck 1796-1816 thru the reigns of Charles IV and Ferdinand VII. The type is not rare tho slightly scarcer than contemporary half or one reales. Harris[2] notes the following mints, in order of abundance: Santiago (commonest), Mexico, Lima, Guatemala, Potosi, Nuevo Reino and Popayán (rarest). The Republic of Mexico struck a silver quarter real 1842-63. It is not recorded if this coin circulated in the United States, but if so, it would have had a face value of 3-1/8 cents.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 0.84 g, .896 fine silver.
Catalog reference: Cayón-13153 (overdate), KM-62; CT-1400.
- Michael, Thomas, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1701-1800, 7th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2016.
- Cayón, Adolfo, Clemente Cayón and Juan Cayón, Las Monedas Españolas, del Tremis al Euro: del 411 a Nuestros Dias, 2 volumes, Madrid: Cayón-Jano S.L., 2005.
- Calicó, Xavier, Numismática Española: Catálogo General con Precios de Todas las Monedas Españolas Acuñadas desde Los Reyes Católicos Hasta Juan Carlos I, 1474 a 2001, Barcelona: Aureo & Calicó, 2008.
- [2]Harris, Robert P., Pillars & Portraits, San José, CA: Bonanza Press, 1968.
- [1]Sedwick, Daniel Frank, Augi Garcia and Cori Sedwick Downing, Treasure Auction 25, Winter Park, FL: Daniel Frank Sedwick LLC, 2019.
- [3]Orsini, Matt, Richard Ponterio and Kyle Ponterio, The January 2020 NYINC Sale: Ancient Coins, World Coins & Paper Money, Santa Ana, CA: Stack's Bowers LLC, 2019.
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