Bust of Carlos IV. While any Popayán portrait 8 Reales is rare, the 1814/3 issue is the one offered most frequently and is the date most likely to be included in type collections. Rarely, however, is a piece of this quality offered. The only example that perhaps outclasses this one is the Lissner coin, which sold in August 2014 as MS-62 (NGC) for $21,850. This piece shares many of the same characteristics: nearly complete luster and abundant flash, subtle toning on chiefly brilliant surfaces, good centering and a strong strike. Some very minor hairlines are visible, but only truly trivial marks. This piece is nice enough that reasonable people could debate whether it is finer than the Lissner coin. Despite the difference in certified grades, your cataloger prefers this piece. Either way, this is a superlative example and truly one of the great coins of the Popayán silver series. From the Eldorado Collection of Colombian and Ecuadorian Coins.<p>From "Clyde," likely Clyde Hubbard.
