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FROM THE 1715 PLATE FLEET
L 71. Lima 1712 H four escudos, Very rare, one of three known specimens, Boldly struck, lustrous mint or near mint state NGC AU 55.
Before the salvage of the 1715 Fleet the 1712 four escudos was not known to exist. Fifty years of work on the Fleet have yielded exactly 3 specimens, all found by Real 8 on the Nieves site in 1964-66. For some reason the State of Florida did not claim one in the Division, and so there is no 1712 four escudos in the Florida State Collection. Real 8 auctioned the least attractive 1712 (in my opinion) in the February 1967 Parke Bernet Sale. Principals of Real 8 retained the other two, including this 1712, for their private collections.
The quality of this media onza speaks for itself. It has strikingly high relief and bold detail. Pillars and cross jump out at you. The surfaces are lustrous and pristine with absolutely no trace of circulation or mishandling. Why NGC has called it an AU 55 in its first visit to the grading services is something of a mystery to me. It is without question a choice MINT STATE coin.
The expression "chance of lifetime" is a cliché, but that's what we probably have with this 1712 Lima four. One of the other 3 specimens is pictured in a 1712 set on the home page of this website. That coin is now impounded in a private collection outside the US from which it will not return for many, many years. The coin Real 8 sold is 1967 is not nearly as attractive as this 1712 and may have seen jewelry use. If you have any thoughts of building a 1712 Lima Fleet set (or if you just want one attractive Fleet Lima 4 escudos), this is the key coin.
Available. Price on request.
terravitan@aol.com or 480-595-1293
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