I show below a recent purchase, one that has blown the coin budget for the time being. Some background: The Captaincy-General of Guatemala (which included lands to the boundary of what is now Panama) was one of the three geographical entities within the Viceroyalty of New Spain in the early 1700’s. However, Guatemala struggled to obtain what they felt was appropriate recognition by the crown, hence an appropriate share of the region’s trade. Despite the fact that there were gold and silver mines nearby in Honduras, and that coins were invariably in short supply for local commerce, it wasn’t until the ascent of the Bourbon dynasty to the Spanish throne in 1701 that attention was finally turned to the increasing problems of trade, and lack of coinage, in the New World. Even so, from the date which the governor of Guatemala applied to the crown for permission to mint coins (1714), it took 15 years for the application to be granted. The mint was constructed in Santiago de los Caballeros (Guatemala City). The first coins were minted in 1733 while the mint was still under construction. The equipment consisted of cast off, second-hand tools from the Mexico City mint. The coins were of the columnario face design, but were impressed on crudely fashioned cobs. The poor workmanship was tolerated due to the compelling need for specie in the region. In 1751 the Guatemala mint received orders to begin minting round coins with security edges, as Mexico City had already been doing for 19 years. It took until 1754 before the mint had the technological capacity to comply with the king’s order. Minting continued to 1773, when an earthquake destroyed the facility. 8 reales 1758 Guatemala mint, assayer J 26.86g, 40mm Gilboy G-8-5b, KM#18 This coin is more crudely made than a contemporary piece from Mexico City or Lima. This is true for most issues from the Guatemala mint. The two ‘G’s on either side of the date denote the mint, and the ‘J’ on the left obverse denotes the chief assayer Jose de Leon y Losa, who served until 1759. Note that the king’s name (Ferdinand) possesses a contraction unique to the Guatemala mint, in which the A and N have been combined: There are three varieties listed for 1758, this one is the least common (50-100 pieces known). The PUP for the variety is the lack of a horizontal bar (abacus) between the bud or flower-shaped pillar top (acanthus) and the small lateral crowns. Thus the crown sits in a disorderly way utop the column:
A very nice, historical (and valuable) coin! Thanks for sharing the coin and its history with us. In my opinion this type is one of the most appealing of all Spanish coinage. "Dos Mundos" coinage from Guatemala is, as a type, scarcer than both Mexico and Lima. The style is also more crude, as you say. Your coin is actually quite well struck in comparison with others that i have seen. Also, from what i have observed, the 2 and 4 reales are actually cruder in style than the 8 reales, and quite difficult to find without mutilation of some kind, (I have yet to find a suitable one without a hole for my collection). I am glad we seem to share an interest in Latin American Colonial coins! My own focus is Lima and Santiago mints. With regards, Eduard
Thanks for looking and commenting everyone. The Guatemala pillar fractionals are intruiging as well, but I agree they are even more difficult to find without damage, if at all.
acanthite, Congratulations! A very sweet coin. (And it has a legitimate "Q" ) Now where is the emoticon for envy?
