spanish colonial coins
I just got the half escudo I talked about in my last blog and I am very excited because this will be a good addition to my colonial coin collection. the Spanish colonial gold coins have a very different reverse design than the silver colonials instead of two pillars surrounding a crowned shield it is a shield surrounded by a chain with an animal hanging by a string. the shields on spanish coins have always been there ever since they started making coins. the shield represents the spanish coat of arms which means the spanish government and monarchy as a nation. the spanish coins have been minted since the 1400s but they did not have reales or escudos they had maravedis. it wasn't until the 1500s that they started making reales and escudos. the gold coins minted in the 15th century are worth tens of thousands of dollars. in 1577 there was a major shortage of gold coins because they sent 80 pounds of thier gold coins on a voyage but all of it got stolen.
these are the face values of the spanish colonial coins in us money:
1/2 real = 5 cents
1 real = 10 cents
2 reales = 25 cents
4 reales = 50 cents
8 reales = 1 dollar
1/2 escudo = 1 dollar
1 escudo = 2 dollars
2 escudos = 5 dollars
4 escudos = 10 dollars
8 escudos = 20 dollars.
I cannot find a good place to find spanish colonial gold coins for sale I did buy one on Ebay but it came from spain with 25 dollar shipping. If anyone knows a good website to find spanish colonial gold coins please write the website's name in the comments. these spanish coins are very old and delecate so if you have one than be careful with it. I dropped one of mine and it had a dent on the rim of the coin. also I noticed something about these coins compared to the us coins, they barely made copper coins and they also follow a pattern, 1/2 real 1/2 escudo 1 real and 1 escudo and it keeps on going to 8 escudos. also one more thing I saw that sometimes when they had a gold shortage they would make some of their gold coins out of copper. and thank you guys for helping me a lot with some good ideas in the comments to make my blogs better. also can anyone determine the grade of the coin in the pictures. ( I am not very good at grading coins) and if you can than that would be very helpful.
and also good luck at the yn auction! I will be participating this time.
Comments
Kepi
Level 6
Beautiful coin! Looks like an interesting area of collecting! ; )
CentSearcher
Level 5
Nice pickup! I'm afraid I won't be able to help you in finding a website, but keep looking!
It's Mokie
Level 6
Too rich for my blood but I do enjoy Spanish Colonial silver coins. Good luck on your hunt. https://www.austincoins.com/rare-coins/world-coins/escudos/
Big Nub Numismatics
Level 5
Heritage might have some of these, but other than, I'm not sure of anyone else with authentic examples.
Longstrider
Level 6
Nice coin. An escudo is a great pick up. Going by the quality I see on this coin, you may want to stick with this seller. Great blog. Thanks.
TheNumisMaster
Level 5
Very fascinating! Thanks for sharing you most recent pickup! Sounds like a beauty! I just use eBay ahaha! Cheers, NM
I. R. Bama
Level 5
Sounds like you are developing a very interesting specialty
CoinHunter
Level 5
Thanks for the blog!
Mike
Level 7
That's a beauty of a coin. I would take to a dealer to make sure they have the size to put this in an air tight. But like they said this is probably 24 carat gold. And can damage very easy. The more marks the value will go down. So please get it in something to protect that beautiful coin .Congratulations my friend.
Golfer
Level 5
Very nice coin. Looks like a very interesting area of coin collecting. Collecting gold coins isn't easy. Thanks for sharing.
Stumpy
Level 5
I don't know enough about these types to guess on grading. Suggest soft cotton covered padding to sit below area where you view your coins. If you drop it, no denting of coin, also any normal surface can scratch a coin when sitting it down or picking it up. I use a half inch thick soft padding covered by a cotton pillow case, effective and inexpensive. Great blog chock full of history and coinage. I enjoyed it and learned from it, Don't get no better, later!