I purchased my dream coin last night: Santiago Columnario 8 Reales 1768 A

I was finally able to realize one of my "numismatic dreams" last night. I bid on, and won a Santiago mint columnario 8 Reales dated 1768, (Assayer A, Agustin de Infante y Prado).

I never thought i would be able to own such a coin. These pieces always go for very high prices. I & A Goldberg just recently sold 2 from the Millenia collection, albeit in very high grades with corresponding prices.
Anyone familiar with these series will know how scarce Santiago mint 8 reales minted from 1751-71 are, compared to similar coins from Mexico, Peru and even Guatemala. I think that as a type only Popayan and Nuevo Reino (Colombia) are rarer. In total about 45-60 pieces are thought to exist of ALL dates combined. This is a coin i have wanted to own for many many years, but all examples sold were always priced WAY above my means.
This one is the most common (least scarce is more correct) date in the Santiago columnario series, and it has some problems: corrosion removed, and a bit porous with tiny chopmarks, so apparently it circulated in the far east. It seems to have been buried at some stage.

These defects made the price more accessible, and i thought, it is this one, or never. They just do not show up very often! The overall appearance is nice, and i am very happy with it. With this coin i can really round up my Chilean Colonial and Republic collection.

I don't know how i managed to convince my wife! she was very understanding all in all, but i did have to make some promises..... I will have to shelve my plans to expand my Large US cent collection (at least for a while).

Let me know what you think. I hope the pictures are clear enough. They are from the auction as obviously i do not have yet the coin in-hand.
Regards,
Eduard

 

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Well done Eduard, I dont honestly know anything about them but it is a nice looking coin and you obviously rate it highly It feels good dont it when you get your paws on something you have been after for a long time LOL

 

Great looking historic coin.

Ben

 

Awesome coin! Congratulations.

Andy

 

Reaching a goal like one's "dream coin" is always a great moment in the collecting process. congratulations.
What's next ? :hammer::hammer::hammer::hammer:

Cucumbor

 

Sweet coin!

stainless

 

awesome awesome i wanted to own one too never got a chance to buy one but its on my to do list

 

Great pick up, I looked at that coin, there are several Chilean columnarios up for auction this week. Its a true rarity.

 

Thank you all for your comments. I feel a lot of afinity for Latin America and Chile specially, that is probably why i wanted this coin so much.
Spock, interesting that you say you are looking for one of these too. Any type, or a Santiago piece as well?
Regards,
Eduard

 

Congrats!!! :hail:

 

Nice coin! well done on the purchase!


Rado

 

Very beautiful coin , WOW !!!
rzage

 

Congratulations! Your pride is very evident. It is so nice to obtain a long-sought rare and choice coin -- a most rewarding post indeed!

James

 

Congratulations Eduard !!

It will be a great addition to your collection

 

Nice grab Eduard!!! It's a beautiful coin.

 

Very nice !!!

 

Hello everybody,
Thanks again for all your comments concerning this coin. Just to let you know that i have decided to have the coin encapsulated for authenticity by NCS. This is a service offered by the auction house, which i find very forthcoming. I normally would not do this, as i like to touch my coins and hold them in my hands. But, due to the many fakes/counterfeits of
rare Spanish Colonial coins, specially Santiago, Chile mint coins, i think this is warranted in thic case.
I am also avidly looking for books and references for Spanish Colonial coins, again specially Santiago mint. If anybody has any specific knowledge on this topic, or could point me in the correct direction, i would really appreciate it.
Regards,m
Ed

 

Thank you very much GDJMSP, you do true honor to your sign off: Knowledge - share it!

I will start searching for the resources you mentioned.
Another source i hear off frequently is Carlos Jara Moreno. He is supposed to be an expert on Chilean coinage, but i have not been able to find a way to contact him, or to find any of his books.

I do have one book dealing explicitly with colonial coinage of the Santiago mint. It is a book by J.T Medina, published in 1919. It is quite brief, and probably more a collectors item than a practical reference. Interestingly, he mentions that back then (1919) when the book was published, there were no specimens known of Charles III Columnarios from the Santiago mint. In the intervening 90years approximately 20-25 specimens have surfaced (let's hope it stay at that!)

Once again, many thanks for your help,
regards,
Eduard