Warm yellow gold, a shade darker on the reverse than obverse, with strong cartwheel luster and superb visual appeal. Ideally centered, far better than usual for this issue, though the denticles are just a bit longer at the base of the obverse and reverse than elsewhere. Some orange toning hides among peripheral legends, enlivened by the especially strong luster inside the rims. Very well struck and notably free of problems, with only a couple minor pinscratches in the space between MAGNA and SEQUOR. A lamination fissure extends from the base of D in IND into the field above the bust truncation. This is a landmark historical rarity, the very first milled onza of Popayán and one of only three issues coined there in the name of Ferdinand VI. This was one of the last coins acquired for this collection, reflecting the dearth of opportunities to purchase a decent one over the preceding four decades. None was present in the Eliasberg Collection, and the example sold in 2013 after spending decades in the Huntington Collection was not this fine. From the Eldorado Collection of Colombian and Ecuadorian Coins.<p>From Numismatica Ars Classicas Auction 22, March 2002, lot 209.
