Venezuela: Charles III 8 Reales 1786 Mo-FM AU58★ NGC,...

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Remarkable Discovery Piece Colonial 8 Reales Minted for Venezuela - Presumed Unique

Charles III 8 Reales 1786 Mo-FM AU58★ NGC, Mexico City mint, KM-Unl., Elizondo-Unl., WR-Unl., Calbeto-Unl., Cay-Unl., cf. ANS-1935.119.9 (for 2 Reales dated 1787), cf. OAV-pg. 150 (citing this coin), Cal-991 (RRR; this coin). 16.18gm. It is truly an exceptional occurrence that so widely researched and collected a subset of coinage as that of Latin America, particularly during the Spanish colonial period, still contains previously undiscovered issues. And yet, we have the present specimen. A fascinating relic from the Captaincy of Venezuela, in the wake of the discovery of an underweight 1787-dated Charles III Mexican 2 Reales in the ANS Collection in late 2006, Tomás Stohr revealed documentary evidence for the production of a special underweight series to mitigate a dearth of coinage in Caracas and its environs c. 1786. Following the 1785 recommendation and petition of the Governor of Caracas, a Royal Ordinance was issued on December 25, 1786, decreeing the minting of 1/2, 1, and 2 Reales in Mexico (the capital of the Viceroyalty of New Spain) for the purpose. To promote local circulation in Caracas and the neighboring Spanish-occupied Windward Islands (Barlovento Islands), such coins were minted at 40% below standard weight. Specifically, and according to renowned Venezuelan collector Luis Roberto Ponte, the exact weight reduction of this issue "was [intended] to withdraw the silver cobs still in circulation, which traded at discount 40% versus the machine-made silver columnarios and bust issues of 'plata fuerte', trading at face value the new provincial coins for the cobs, with no losses for the Government nor for the holders of the cobs." Likely to save on costs and increase seigniorage, the Mexico City mint employed the same punches to make the dies used for the regular coinage of the time. Despite provisions for a shipment being made from February to April 1787, complaints by officials such as Ignacio Peñalver y Cárdenas, the Captain-General and Governor of Cuba, that such pieces threatened to undermine credit and commerce outside their intended sphere of circulation ultimately led Charles III to withdraw and melt down the entire coinage by an Ordinance of August 20, 1787, which reportedly went into effect in 1788.

Although the Governor of Caracas originally petitioned for 2 million Pesos-worth of coins, and the Ordinance of February 3, 1787 directed the mintage of 200,000 Pesos-worth, by all appearances the Spanish government was incredibly thorough in their destruction of the issue. Interestingly, however, in addition to the 2 Reales in the ANS Collection and a 40% underweight 1 Real discovered by Stohr, archival documentation also records an equivalent 4 Reales. This final coin is especially important in considering the piece on offer here, as both seemingly were struck in contravention of the original authorization, which made no provisions for the minting of either 4 or 8 Reales. Further, Luis Roberto Ponte notes that, from his research conducted at the General Archives of the Indies in Seville, he did "locate documentary evidence that trial pieces were minted for all denominations (8, 4, 2, 1, and half Reales)". Regardless, to date, this specimen is the only 8 Reales known to survive from this order. Certainly a "gem" of a survivor for its issue, this selection exhibits a level of preservation far above what could usually be expected for a colonial 8 Reales of the time, let alone a provisional issue. Highly sharp, particularly in the legends, even the most subtle tilt under good light unleashed waves of multi-chromatic iridescence, with shades of champagne, lapis lazuli, and amethyst color washing in pondlike fashion over the surfaces. Without a doubt one of the most important modern discoveries of the Venezuelan series, and a coin which is in more than one respect meriting of its "star" designation.

Ex. Renaissance Auctions (December 2000, Lot 772)

Metal: Silver
Diameter: 36mm

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