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Peru - 8 Reales (Spanish Colonial)

Owner Comments:

Purchased on 6/5/2012. This was my birthday present to myself for the year 2012. The toning on this one just leaves me speechless. The obverse (bust) side of the coin exhibits some pinks and blue in the periphery, while the reverse is painted in tones of almost every color of the rainbow. A true delight of a coin to view in hand.

Total mintage: 5,005,000

Even with a relatively high mintage, NGC has graded only 6 coins and PCGS has graded only 5. Of the total 11 coins graded by NGC or PCGS, the two highest graded examples are graded AU58 (this is the one from PCGS, and one other from NGC) and 5 graded AU55 (3 from NGC and 2 from PCGS). The other 4 examples are graded XF45 or lower.

The coin itself features the bust of King Carlos IV of Spain (reigned from 1788-1808). On the reverse legend the monogram 'LIMAE' is represented on the left in the inscription resembling "ME". This is the mintmark indicating the coin was produced at the mint in Lima, Peru. This is followed by '8 R' which indicates the denomination of 8 Reales. The subsequent I and the J are the initials of the assayers at the Lima Mint during the time the coin was minted (Ignacio Zenón Gélves and Juan Martínez de Roxas who worked together from 1787-1803).