Extraordinary Spanish Colonial Collection Certified by NGC Offered in Sedwick Sale

Over 130 Spanish colonial coins from the remarkable Clyde Hubbard Collection of Mexican Charles-Joanna coinage, which were exclusively certified by Numismatic Guaranty Company™ (NGC®), are featured in a Sedwick’s Treasure, World and US Coin sale. Over about 70 years, Hubbard amassed thousands of early Latin American coins, a grand achievement in numismatics. These historic coins are only a fraction of the entire collection.

One of the leading examples from the collection is a Mexico (1542-55)SMO Charles and Joanna 4 Reales graded NGC VF 35 (Session 2, lot 428). The coin was struck during the reign of Queen Joanna, who co-ruled Spain with her son, Charles I. It is the only example certified in the NGC Census. Compared with other coins of the same kind, the design of the two pillars is different than other examples before or after it, making this particular coin a scarce variety that Hubbard discovered. It has an estimate of $3,500 to $7,000.

Mexico (1542-55)SMO Charles and Joanna 4 Reales graded NGC VF 35 and pedigreed to the Clyde Hubbard Collection Click images to enlarge.

Another coin from the collection is a Mexico (1536-38)MR Charles and Joanna 2 Reales graded NGC VF 35. According to the auction house, this coin is one of seven known examples to have the Latin motto, “PLVS,” encircled in the center of the coin’s obverse. This rarity (Session 2, lot 367) has an estimate of $3,500 to $5,000.

Mexico (1536-38)MR Charles and Joanna 2 Reales graded NGC VF 35 and pedigreed to the Clyde Hubbard Collection Click images to enlarge.

About Clyde Hubbard

A lifelong numismatic collector, Clyde Hubbard started collecting Spanish colonial coinage when his employer, a cosmetic company, assigned him to work in Cuba and later Mexico. His passion led him to be a founding member of the Numismatic Society of Mexico. Hubbard and numismatist and photographer Robert Nesmith documented a comprehensive catalog of Charles-Joanna coinage varieties in Nesmith’s book, The Coinage of the First Mint of the Americas at Mexico City, 1536-1572. In 1994, Hubbard was inducted into the ANA’s Numismatic Hall of Fame for his expertise and contributions to Mexican and Latin American coins. He died at the age of 103 in 2020.

Dozens of selections from this incredible collection are among 800 NGC-certified rarities in Sedwick’s Auction 31, which includes coins from shipwrecks. To see the other highlights of the auction, click here. Online bidding is underway, with the sale ending May 4-6, 2022.