| Author |
 Replies: 5 / Views: 930 |
|
|
Bedrock of the Community
United States
11880 Posts |
This is the second assayer P coin I acquired in a recent sale. This one has the initials reversed to the left and right of the shield (M-P) and has dots above and below the initials. Pedro de Espina was the 2nd of 4 assayers in the early series of coins from the first Mint in Mexico City. He followed the first assayer Francisco del Rincon. The first coins struck in the New World were made at the initial Mexico City Mint which was located in the home of Spanish conquistador of Mexico Hernan Cortes. This was ~46 years after Columbus landed in the New World in 1492. Cortes conquered Mexico in 1519 by defeating Aztec Emperor Moctezuma Xocoyotzin. This was the early precursor of U.S. coinage. As always, let me know your thoughts on the coin.   The 2nd 1 Real Coin Struck in the New World MEXICO, Colonial. Juana y Carlos. Queen & King of Spain, 1506-1516. AR 1 Real (3.23 g). Early series. Mexico City mint; Pedro de Espina, assayer. Struck 1538-1541. Crowned coat-of-arms / Crowned Pillars of Hercules; PLVS in rhomboid with 6 anulets. Calico-63. PCGS VF20. Charles & Johanna Real ND P-M. A solid piece g. From the JBR Collection. IN NECESSARIIS UNITAS - IN DUBIIS LIBERTAS - IN OMNIBUS CARITAS THE MAN IN THE ARENA, Theodore Roosevelt at the Sorbonne Paris on April 23, 1910: " It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself in a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat." My coin website: https://fairfaxcoins.com |
|
|
|
Bedrock of the Community
 United States
11880 Posts |
The rarest coins in the early series are the ones struck and issued by the 3rd assayer F. This was Francisco de Loiaza. There are only 26 known coins issued by Loiaza. The reason appears to be that Loiaza was in office as assayer less than a year in 1541. I guess people didn't live to a very old age in early colonial Mexico. Below is detail of the second letter to the right of the shield. Does that letter between the dots look like a P or F to you? TIA.  IN NECESSARIIS UNITAS - IN DUBIIS LIBERTAS - IN OMNIBUS CARITAS THE MAN IN THE ARENA, Theodore Roosevelt at the Sorbonne Paris on April 23, 1910: " It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself in a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat." My coin website: https://fairfaxcoins.comEdited by numismatic student
08/20/2025 4:56 pm
|
|
Moderator
 United States
187702 Posts |
Very impressive!  |
|
Bedrock of the Community
United States
11880 Posts |
Thanks @jbuck. I am leaning towards an F because the upper part of the letter looks to me like a thick serifed F as does the middle prong. Below is an example of a punched P from my other assayer P coin.  IN NECESSARIIS UNITAS - IN DUBIIS LIBERTAS - IN OMNIBUS CARITAS THE MAN IN THE ARENA, Theodore Roosevelt at the Sorbonne Paris on April 23, 1910: " It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself in a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat." My coin website: https://fairfaxcoins.com |
|
Bedrock of the Community
United States
73718 Posts |
Nice coin. I'd say it's probably an F. Errers and Varietys.
|
|
Moderator
United States
187702 Posts |
Quote:
I am leaning towards an F because the upper part of the letter looks to me like a thick serifed F as does the middle prong. Below is an example of a punched P from my other assayer P coin. I can agree with that assessment. |
| |
Replies: 5 / Views: 930 |
|
To participate in the forum you must log in or register.
Disclaimer: While a tremendous amount of effort goes into ensuring the accuracy of the information contained in this site, Coin Community assumes no liability for errors. Copyright 2005 - 2026 Coin Community Family- all rights reserved worldwide. Use of any images or content on this website without prior written permission of Coin Community or the original lender is strictly prohibited.
Contact Us | Advertise Here | Privacy Policy / Terms of Use
|
| Coin Community Forum |
© 2005 - 2026 Coin Community Forums |
| It took 0.31 seconds to rattle this change. |
 |
|
Posted 08/20/2025 4:58 pm
