1788 8 Escudos Chile Santiago Mint #1 And #2 - US Legal Tender Until 1857

I acquired this pair of coins because they were an important part of U.S. history. The Spanish milled dollar or 8 reales coin was effectively the reserve currency of the world at the time and that applied to all other denominations of Spanish coinage. Until 1857, Spanish gold and silver coins were legal tender in the U.S. I thought I would keep the two coins together in the same thread as it would probably be easier to compare the relative state of preservation of the two coins. U.S. gold coinage did not start until 1795.

Smaller silver Spanish coinage circulated widely in the colonies and the United States alongside other foreign coins as locally produced coinage was scarce. But the 8 Escudos coins, which were exchangeable for 16 Spanish milled dollars for a long time did not circulate in commerce. Rather they were used much like the Double Eagles were, not to buy everyday things, but primarily to sit in bank vaults and serve as reserves backing paper currency and notes issued, which were more practical to carry around and exchange. Below is an image of posted exchange rates in North America for foreign coinage published by Michener.


NGC says that this particular type issued during the reign of King Carlos III (Latin Carolus or Carol for short - Pictured Below) in 1788 at the tail end of his reign (1759-1788) had a mintage of 42,000 coins in far away Santiago, Chile. This belies the many gold and silver discoveries int he New World and why these distant colonies were so valuable to European sovereigns. These were struck after the American Revolutionary War and prior to the establishment of the U.S. Mint. This coin would have been used as money all over the world, but primarily in the colonial trade in the New World.


Do the engraved portraits of Carlos III in the coins reflect the painted portraits of his image?

Coin #1



Coin #2