8 Reales Felipe III 1620: Value of Colonial Silver

If you inherited a heavy, irregular silver coin dated 1620 with a cross and a shield, you likely have a Spanish colonial 8 reales, one of the most famous coins in the world. Genuine examples of the Felipe III 8 reales from the Mexico City mint typically sell from a few hundred dollars up to several thousand USD depending on grade, strike quality, and eye appeal. The metal alone gives it a floor.

What you actually have

This is an 8 reales (sometimes called a "piece of eight") struck under Felipe III of Spain, dated 1620, from the Mexico City mint (Casa de Moneda de México), the busiest silver mint of the Spanish Empire.

• Metal: silver, 0.900 fineness
• Weight: 27.15 g
• Diameter: 41 mm
• Edge: plain (no reeding or lettering)
• Assayer initial: D (the official who certified the silver content)
• Catalog reference: 143

The assayer mark and the mint mark are what collectors check first, so the D and the Mexico City attribution matter for value. These coins were made by hand, which is why the flan is often uneven and the design rarely fully centered. That irregularity is normal for the type and is not a defect.

Is it rare, and what drives the price

Most 17th century 8 reales are not rare in the absolute sense. Millions were struck over decades because this coin was the world's trade currency, and Mexico City was its largest producer. Rarity comes down to condition, not age.

What moves the price on a Felipe III 8 reales:

1. Grade and detail. A worn, corroded coin with a weak strike sits near its silver value. A sharp piece with a clear date, full cross, and readable shield can be worth several times more.
2. Full date visible. Many colonial cobs lost the date to weak striking or clipping. A clear, complete "1620" is a real plus.
3. Certification. A coin graded by NGC or PCGS sells for more and moves faster, because buyers trust it is genuine.
4. Shipwreck provenance. Some 8 reales recovered from documented wrecks carry a premium when they come with recovery paperwork.

What it's worth in USD

Exact figures depend entirely on the individual coin, so treat these as ranges rather than a fixed price:

Condition	Approximate value (USD)
Heavily worn / corroded	150 to 300
Clearly readable, average detail	300 to 800
Sharp strike, full date, problem-free	800 to 2,500+
Certified high grade / rare variant	3,000 and up

Because the coin holds 27.15 g of 0.900 silver (roughly 0.78 troy ounces of pure silver), its melt value sets the floor. No genuine example should sell below its silver content. If someone offers you far under the metal value, walk away.

The myth: "it's 400 years old, so it's worth a fortune"

Age alone does not make a coin valuable. A 1620 8 reales that is dark, pitted, and worn flat is a common trade coin worth a few hundred dollars, not a life-changing sum. The pieces that bring big money are the sharp, well-centered, certified examples, or genuine mint errors and rare assayer combinations verified by an expert. Most "errors" people post online are post-mint damage (corrosion, scratches, cleaning marks), not factory mistakes.

One warning specific to this type: colonial silver is heavily counterfeited, and cast copies are common. Fakes often have the wrong weight, a soft mushy surface, or a visible seam on the edge.

How to tell if yours is genuine

• Weigh it. Use a jewelry scale. A genuine example should be near 27.15 g. A light or heavy coin is a red flag.
• Measure it. Diameter around 41 mm, though hand-struck cobs vary.
• Check the edge. It should be plain. A seam or file marks suggest a cast fake.
• Look at the surface. Struck coins show sharp, crisp detail where present. Cast fakes look soft and grainy, sometimes with tiny bubbles.
• Get it certified. For a coin in this value range, sending it to NGC or PCGS is worth the fee. It confirms authenticity and grade, and buyers pay more for a slabbed coin.

If you want a second opinion before spending on grading, post clear photos of the front, back, and edge in the Pesoteca forum and the community can flag obvious problems.

Where to sell it

• A verified numismatic dealer from the Pesoteca shop directory will appraise it in person, no markup games.
• The buy-and-sell forum puts you in front of collectors who know the type and pay fair prices.
• For a high-grade or certified example, an auction house that handles world coins (Heritage, Stack's Bowers) can reach the strongest buyers.

Whatever route you choose, photograph the coin well, confirm the weight, and check this page's value range before you accept an offer. Do not dump it to the first bidder on Facebook.

Have a 1620 8 reales sitting in a drawer? Post the weight and photos in the Pesoteca forum and we'll help you place it in the right range.

This piece belongs to the reign of Felipe III of Spain (1598-1621). He succeeded his father Felipe II. His rule, delegated to the Duke of Lerma, coincided with the start of the so-called economic decline of the Hispanic Monarchy.

The government of New Spain in 1620 was in the hands of Diego Fernández de Córdoba, Marquis of Guadalcázar, marking the close of his viceroyalty that year.

The numismatic type of the piece is a cob (macuquina), also called a hammer-cut coin. The planchets were cut with shears from a silver bar and struck between hand dies, so no cob has an even edge or a perfectly circular shape. It circulated as a benchmark trade coin throughout the Atlantic for more than two centuries.

The Mexico City mint (crowned Mo mark) operated from 1535 as the first mint in the Americas. During the 17th century it struck cobs almost without interruption, being the main point of issue for struck silver in the Spanish empire. The dies were signed by the Mexico City mint assayer active in the period, the official charged by the Royal Treasury with certifying that the silver fineness met viceregal standards.

Colonial catalogs trace this piece within the families of the Mexico City piece of eight, with prices that respond to rarity by year and assayer signature.

The year the viceroyalty passed from the Marquis of Guadalcázar to the Marquis of Gelves.