8 Escudos Fernando VI 1748: Gold Coin Value

If you inherited a 1748 gold coin with a king's bust and the words FERDIN VI on it, you are holding a Spanish colonial 8 Escudos, one of the most valuable coins ever struck in Mexico. In 2026, a genuine, mid-grade example is worth roughly 2,500 to 5,000 USD, and top certified pieces have sold well past 30,000 USD. This is not a coin that trades for a few dollars.

What you actually have

The 8 Escudos was the highest-denomination coin in the Spanish colonial system, a large gold piece popularly called an "onza" (ounce) because it weighs almost a full troy ounce. Yours was struck at the Mexico City mint (the Casa de Moneda de México), which was the main gold and silver supplier of the Spanish Empire at the time.

Here are the hard specs, which matter for both valuation and authentication:

• Metal: Gold
• Weight: 26.95 grams (close to one troy ounce)
• Diameter: 36 mm
• Edge: Reeded (grooved)
• Catalog reference: KM#150
• Assayer mark: MF (the official who certified the metal's fineness)
• Type: Second type, bust of Fernando VI in a draped robe on the front; the reverse shows the crowned arms with the Cross of the Golden Fleece (Toisón) below

The MF you may see next to the denomination is the assayer's initials, not a rare variety. It is normal for this issue.

Is it rare, and what drives the price

Colonial 8 Escudos are genuinely scarce and always in demand, so they hold value regardless of the year. But three things separate a 3,000 USD coin from a 30,000 USD coin:

1. Condition (grade). A worn, ex-jewelry example brings a fraction of a sharp, well-struck one. Cleaning, scratches, or a solder mark from being mounted as a pendant cut the price hard.
2. Authenticity and certification. These coins are heavily faked. A piece graded by NGC or PCGS sells for far more than a raw (uncertified) one, because buyers trust it.
3. Gold content as a floor. Even a damaged genuine coin is worth its melt value. At close to one troy ounce of gold at ~0.917 fineness (roughly 0.79 oz of pure gold), the metal alone gives it a floor well above 1,500 USD in most markets. A real 8 Escudos is never "worth nothing."

Real-world value ranges

Exact prices swing with the gold spot price and with how the coin grades. Standout certified colonial 8 Escudos regularly cross the 20,000 to 40,000 USD range at Heritage Auctions and Stack's Bowers, so if yours looks sharp and original, do not sell it based on scrap gold alone.

The myth to avoid

A lot of online sellers slap a "museum piece, priceless" label on any old gold coin. Reality: value comes from grade, originality, and certification, not age by itself. A coin that has been polished to look shiny is worth less, not more. If someone offers you only the melt price for a clean, original 1748 8 Escudos, walk away. That is a lowball.

How to check what yours is worth

1. Weigh and measure it. Use a jewelry scale and a caliper. It should be very close to 26.95 g and 36 mm. A coin that is light, magnetic, or off-size is almost certainly a fake.
2. Look at the details. Check the assayer mark, the mintmark, and the engraving style. Counterfeits often have soft, mushy lettering or wrong proportions on the bust and arms.
3. Get it authenticated. For a coin in this value range, professional grading (NGC or PCGS) pays for itself. It confirms it is real and gives you a grade buyers respect.
4. Compare against this listing before you accept any offer.

Where to sell it

Because this is a high-value precious-metal coin, sell only where you can show the piece and confirm the weight before money changes hands. A verified numismatic dealer from the Pesoteca directory can appraise it on the spot, and the Pesoteca buy-and-sell forum connects you with collectors who understand what a real 8 Escudos is worth. Photograph the front, back, and edge before you list it. Do not dump it to the first buyer on social media, and never accept an offer that is far below the coin's gold value.

Think you have a genuine 1748 8 Escudos, or not sure if yours is real? Post clear photos of both sides and the edge in the Pesoteca forum and let collectors weigh in before you sell.

Eight escudos of Ferdinand VI, 1748, Mexico mint. A historically pivotal year: in October the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle was signed, closing the War of the Austrian Succession and restoring peace to Europe after eight years of conflict. Spain recovered Tuscany for the first time for the infante Philip. Ferdinand VI was consolidating his policy of neutrality as a hallmark of his reign. In New Spain the Count of Revillagigedo continued as viceroy in his second year. The record describes the piece as the second type with the cross of the Order of the Golden Fleece below the fleece and the bust dressed in a tunic. This iconographic variant is distinguished from the first by the adjustment of the obverse die and by the heraldic detail of the Golden Fleece. The ounce weighs 27.06 grams at 0.916 fineness. Produced by mill press with a round planchet. The pillar-type reverse kept the crowned Pillars of Hercules and the PLVS VLTRA banners. Krause references KM#150 for this type. Pieces of 1748 are inaugural for the Golden Fleece variant, a distinctive face of the Ferdinand VI pillar cycle that would carry on through much of the reign.