8 Reales Fernando VI 1748: What It's Worth Today

If you inherited or found an 8 reales Fernando VI dated 1748, here is the straight answer: a worn, circulated example typically sells in the range of 150 to 400 USD, while a sharp, high-grade certified piece can reach several thousand dollars. This is genuine Spanish colonial silver struck in Mexico City, and it has real value both as a collector coin and as bullion.

Don't let the word "colonial" make you assume automatic riches. Most surviving examples are heavily circulated and worth a few hundred dollars, not a fortune. What separates a 300 USD coin from a 3,000 USD coin is condition, authenticity, and eye appeal. Below is what actually drives the number.

What this coin is

The 8 reales was the standard large silver coin of the Spanish colonial world, the ancestor of the modern silver dollar. Yours was struck in 1748 during the reign of Fernando VI (Ferdinand VI of Spain), at the Mexico City mint (the oldest mint in the Americas), with assayer mark MF. It belongs to the colonial 8 reales series.

These coins circulated across the globe, from Europe to Asia, which is why they show up in inheritances and old collections far outside Mexico.

The specs (verify yours against these)

Spec	Value
Denomination	8 Reales
Year	1748 (single date)
Mint	Mexico City
Assayer	MF
Metal	Silver .900 fine
Weight	26.56 grams
Diameter	40 mm
Edge	Laurel (decorated)

If your coin does not match the weight and diameter closely, that is your first warning sign. Genuine .900 silver at 26.56 grams is heavy and dense for its size.

What it's worth by condition

Value on colonial 8 reales moves sharply with grade. Rough guidance in USD:

Condition	Approximate value (USD)
Heavily worn / damaged	100 to 200
Circulated, clear details	200 to 500
Lightly circulated, strong detail	500 to 1,200
Uncirculated / certified high grade	1,500 and up

These are ranges, not fixed prices. Colonial coins vary enormously in strike quality, and problems like cleaning, holes, mounts, or corrosion can cut the value in half or more. A coin that has been polished to look shiny is worth less than the same coin left original, which surprises most first-time sellers.

Because it is .900 silver weighing 26.56 grams, this coin also has a bullion floor: it will never be worth less than its silver melt value, roughly 0.77 troy ounces of pure silver. That is the safety net under the numismatic price.

How to tell if yours is genuine

Colonial silver is faked, so check before you celebrate.

• Weigh it and measure it. Should hit 26.56 grams and 40 mm. Underweight or thin usually means a fake or a low-silver copy.
• Look at the edge. A genuine piece has a laurel (decorated) edge. A plain or seam-lined edge is a red flag.
• The ping test. Real silver rings with a high, sustained tone when balanced on a fingertip and tapped gently. Fakes sound dull and short.
• Get it certified for anything valuable. If you think you have a high-grade or scarce example, submitting it to NGC or PCGS is the definitive answer. A certified coin also sells for more and faster.

Use the Mexican coin grading guide to place your coin on the condition scale before you get a quote.

Where to sell it

For a coin in this value range, your best options are a verified dealer or the collector market:

• A verified numismatic shop from the Pesoteca directory will appraise it on the spot and pay based on real grade.
• The Pesoteca buy-and-sell forum puts you in front of collectors who actually want colonial silver.

Photograph the front, back, and edge in good light before you show it to anyone. Because this is precious metal, only deal with buyers who can verify weight in front of you, and never accept the first lowball offer on a general marketplace. If your piece grades high or looks certified-worthy, get it graded first; the fee pays for itself.

Have a Fernando VI 8 reales sitting in a drawer and not sure what grade it is? Post clear photos in the Pesoteca forum and let collectors weigh in before you sell.

This piece belongs to the reign of Ferdinand VI of Spain (1746-1759). Son of Philip V. His reign was marked by neutrality in the European conflicts and by enlightened reforms in Spain and the Indies.

The government of New Spain in 1748 was in the hands of Juan Francisco de Güemes y Horcasitas, Count of Revillagigedo, the first viceregal term of the Güemes family.

The piece's numismatic type is pillar (columnario), officially introduced in New Spain in 1732. The reverse shows two crowned globes between the Pillars of Hercules with the motto PLVS VLTRA, and for the first time the coin was struck on a screw press with a laureate edge, which reduced the fraudulent clipping of silver and made the pillar real the most trusted trade coin of its time.

The Mexico mint formally introduced the mechanized striking of pillar reales in 1732, and from then on the crowned Mo mark was accompanied by the assayer's initials. Production was enormous, exported as money of account to the Philippines, China, Protestant Europe, and the 13 English colonies. The assayer initials declared on the piece are MF, an official of the Royal Treasury charged with certifying the silver fineness (0.930 and later 0.903) under viceregal standard.

The Krause catalog references this piece under KM#104.1, useful for cross-checking the record against international auction listings.

This was the year of the signing of the Peace of Aix-la-Chapelle that ended the War of the Austrian Succession, with New Spain relatively on the sidelines.