Overview
- The Centen (100 escudos) realized 2,817,500 Swiss francs at a Monday sale, surpassing the previous European coin record of 1.95 million francs.
- Numismatica Genevensis SA auctioned the coin after setting a starting price of 2 million francs.
- Auction materials describe the piece as unique and the largest coin in modern European history.
- Struck in Segovia in 1609 from gold brought from the Americas, the coin was characterized by the auction house as a royal gift signaling power and wealth.
- Provenance cited includes a mid-20th-century resurfacing in the United States, subsequent ownership by a New York collector and a Spanish buyer, and later transfer to an undisclosed private collector.