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(Philip V 1700-1747) |
FROM THE 1715 PLATE FLEET
M16. Ornate cross Mexico 1711 Mxo J 8 escudos, One of three dated ornate cross 8 escudos known, by far the rarest type of Mexican 8 escudos . From the 1715 Fleet with a Real 8 Co certificate. Boldly struck on huge (37 mm) planchet!
For reasons that are not yet clear, the Mexico City mint in 1711 abandoned the so-called "box cross" design that had been used since the 1690's in favor of an unprecedented experimental design featuring an ornate tressure with frond-like extensions. The experiment, though of artistic merit, was short-lived, lasting less than a year, and creating the rarest type of Mexican 8 escudos. Prior to the 1715 Fleet salvages, the ornate cross 8 escudos was known from only a few specimens, all undated. A dated ornate cross 8 escudos is so rare that even in Craig's 2000 monograph, Spanish Colonial Gold Coins in the Florida Collection, the type (J) could not be assigned a date. Three dated ornate cross are now known.
The average diameter a 1710-1713 Mexican 8 escudos is slightly over 33 mm. Here we have a 37 mm planchet, making it by far the largest Mexican 8 escudos. The effect when this coin is put besides other 8 escudos is striking. A veteran collector of Fleet onza, when he first saw this 1711, asked "where did that 10 escudos come from?"
This 8 escudos was found on Colored Beach in the summer of 1964 and immediately went into a private Real 8 collection, where it quietly resided for 45 years. Lou Ullian's Real 8 certificate, pictured below, accompanies the coin. This 1711 onza has a beautiful golden color and is nearly mint state. The shield and cross are sharply detailed--except for a few inevitable flat spots--and all the key sigla flanking the shield (MXo J, VIII) are sharp. More legend is present on this onza than any non-Royal. We can read to the left shield--see above-- +DEI +G (1)711 +, with the thick base of the first 1 clear.
Available. Price on Request. 480-595-1293
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