2017-11-09 Thu

NGC recently certified an extremely rare 1695 Royal 8 Escudos. The NGC MS 65 coin was struck in Mexico City for royalty. However, it was lost in a shipwreck on its way to Spain. Out of the two known examples of this coin, one is displayed at a Florida museum. The other coin was recovered from the shipwreck of the 1715 Treasure Fleet, hundreds of years back. 11 of 12 Spanish ships carrying a large amount of gold and silver coins sunk in a hurricane near the coast of Florida.

Mexico was a colony of the Spanish Empire in those days. Mexican coins and the coins of other Spanish colonies were irregularly shaped pieces of gold or silver known as “cobs” until the 1730s. Although weight and fineness remained constant, they were struck from dies without putting in much effort for maintaining the shape.

A very limited number of round coins were struck for presentation to royalty since Spanish monarchs wouldn’t like to see oddly shaped cobs, especially when their image is featured on them. These rare specimens, known as “Royals”, are highly sought after in the world of numismatics.

The obverse of the stunning coin which NGC recently graded features a crowned Habsburg shield and King Charles II of Spain’s name in Latin. The reverse depicts a cross and a Latin inscription which translates to King of Spain and the Indies.