1.60 grams. An exciting issue, essentially unknown and undocumented until thorough research by Herman Blanton was published in the January/February 2009 issue of the <em>Numismatics International Bulletin</em>. By process of elimination, Blanton deduced that the lion and castle punches seen here were never used on any cob 8 Reales of Latin America, and that the trefoil leaves around the perimeter match those found on the edges of milled 8 Reales. Documents reveal that 40,536 cob Cuartillos were struck in Bogotá in 1755 while the mint was being outfitted to produce milled coinage. This is one of them. The surfaces are choice and glossy, toned medium gray. The castle side is ideally centered, the lion aligned trivially rightward. Blanton documented just two examples, both of which use the same punches as this coin. Another was offered in Sedwicks Auction 16. Despite being worn and softly struck, it brought $2,585. This may be the finest extant. As Sedwick noted, the weights for these Cuartillos is quite heavy, essentially the weight of a 1/2 Real. From the Eldorado Collection of Colombian and Ecuadorian Coins.
