My First Chopmarked Pillar 8 Reales
ChopmarkedTrades
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I have been pursuing chopmarked Trade Dollars for a few years now, and as well-preserved examples seem to appear with less frequency and with ever-growing estimates, I found myself drawn to another pursuit: the chopmarked world type set. Nearly impossible to truly complete, as no comprehensive list of known types exists and new examples are still being discovered, along with several unique or extremely rare pieces, the set is a lot of fun for the underappreciated rarity and the sheer variety of many of the coins that can fit into it.
I've been pursuing this collection actively for about a year and a half. However, I have hesitated to pick up one of the most significant and distinctive types, not just for the chopmarked series, but for world numismatics: the Spanish Colonial Pillar 8 Reales. Examples turn up quite often, but almost never in the condition that I'd like. That changed with the most recent Aureo & Calicó auction (Sale No. 328), where this beauty appeared as Lot No. 303. Consider the streak broken.
Provenance:
Aureo & Calicó Auction 328 ('Selección de 500 Monedas, Medallas, y Billetes'), Lot 303, Mar. 15, 2019.
Aureo & Calicó Colección Bohol Sale, Lot 1359, Aug. 11, 2017.
Comments
Most of those do not look like typical chops. Have you seen them elsewhere?
These specific ones, no. However, large relief chops are fairly common on Pillar 8Rs; the commonly repeated belief is that they are "banker's chops", but I haven't seen any evidence to support them as distinct from conventional chops. It has a couple of the more common small character chops as well, to offer some validity.
nice pickup! I've yet to make the jump to world chopmarked coins. maybe in the future !
Minor Variety Trade dollar's with chop marks set:
More Than It's Chopped Up To Be
That's a very nice coin, I like it a lot!
Nice coin! I like these larger incuse style chops that you sometimes see on pillars. This one is definitely more attractive than most chopped pillars you’ll find.