An 8 Escudos piece dated 1831-32 from La Rioja, £28,000 at Sovereign Rarities.
Several of these regions came together in 1813 to create the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata with its new currency, distinct in design from the Spanish Real, including the first gold coin minted in South America by an independent state.
This 8 Escudos piece dated 1831-32 was among those issued in the semi-autonomous region of La Rioja in the wake of the turmoil of civil war. The Spanish legend on the obverse translates as ‘Provinces of the River Plate’ and on the reverse as ‘In Union and Freedom’.
A superb example of one of the rarest coins in the Latin America series (it is only the 5th of its type recorded), it sold for £28,000, plus 20% buyer’s premium, at Sovereign Rarities on February 14, 2023.
