When the Spanish discovered the New World in 1492, the one commodity they sought after more than any other was gold. Once they found any quantity of it, it was melted down at the colonial mint and converted into coins and ingots so it could be shipped back to Spain. The coins were known as escudos, which is the Spanish word for “shields”, and the largest was the 8 escudos, weighing in at just over 27 grams of 22k Peruvian gold. From 1659-1750 a total of 3,238,349 pieces are known to have been minted. Of these, it is estimated that only about 4,000 specimens exist today, which is roughly 1% of the total mintage. At this writing, NGC has graded 2,437 pieces and it is unknown how many in their census were regraded, so the actual number of pieces may be much lower.
With the discovery of the Spanish galleon the San José that was sunk off of the coast of Columbia in 1708, it is likely that many more Lima 8 escudos will be found, however it is unlikely that any of the treasure on this ship will be made available to the public. It is reported that the San José carried the equivalent of $17-$20 billion dollars worth of gold, silver, jewels, and other valuables before she was sunk by the British warship HMS Expedition. For more information on the sinking of the San José, visit: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_galleon_San_Jos%C3%A9
The main source of new Lima 8 Escudos that trickle into the market seem to come from divers salvaging the 1715 Spanish fleet or a rare metal detectorist find on the Florida beaches after a hurricane. Most of these coins are dated between 1699 – 1714.
The following information and mintages are being provided as a valuable reference on the production population of 8 escudos gold cobs minted at the Spanish Colonial mint in Lima, Peru from 1659-1750. This information was compiled and verified from a number of trusted numismatic resources.
To use the table below, the letter “L” after the date represents the mint at Lima, Peru and the letter following represents the initial of the mint assayer’s last name for that year. When looking at the pillar side of a Lima 8 escudos, the letter in the upper left quadrant next to the pillar of Hercules represents the mint mark letter as “L” for Lima, Peru. In the upper right quadrant to the right side of the pillar of Hercules is the mint assayers initial. Under the mintage column, the dotted lines means that the mintage is unknown.
For example, this photo of a 1722 L M 8 escudos was minted in 1722 at the Lima mint with the assayer “M” representing the assayer at that time as being Christopher Cano Melgarejo.
Keep in mind that there are many die varieties of Lima 8 escudos and new varieties are still discovered periodically. Most Lima 8’s have some form or another of unusual design characteristics, overdates, doubling and other die features that make each coin unique.
As mentioned previously, precious few Lima 8 Escudos have survived the centuries as most were transported from the New World back to Spain, where they were melted down and converted into traditional Spanish coinage. Most of the higher grade and mint state examples of Lima 8 Escudos we have today have been recovered from shipwrecks, such as the 1715 Spanish fleet that sunk in a hurricane off of the East coast of Florida on July 31, 1715.
All Lima 8 Escudos are considered very rare and for some dates, five or less examples may be known to exist.
If you need more information about Lima 8 Escudos, or have questions about one you own, please feel free to contact Sean Scott at Sean@CommodoreCoins.com.
Date & Mintage Table
1659-1660 Mintage The obverse legend reads “PHILIPPVS IIII D.G. HISPANIARVM”
1659 L V 1,617
1660 L V 846
1696 – 1701 Mintage The obverse legend reads “C. II D.G. HISPANIARVM”
1696 L H —–
1696 L H —– (P.V.A. includes dots at each letter)
1697 L H —– (P.V.A. includes dots at each letter)
1697 L H —– (PVA no dots at each letter)
1697/6 L H —–
1698 L H 5,898
1699 L R 15,656 (PVA – no dots at each letter)
1699 L R —– (P.V.A. includes dots at each letter)
1700 L H 10,350
1701 – 1709 Mintage The obverse legend reads ”PHILIPPVS V D. G. HISPANIARVM”
1701 L H —– Very Rare
1701/0 L H —– Very Rare
1702 L H 19,640
1703 L H 34,562
1704 L H 26,733
1705 L H 110,670
1706 L R —– (No records of mintage are available)
1707 L H 112,660
1708 L H 39,138
1709 L H 49,615
1709 L M —– (Included in 1709 LH mintage)
1710 – 1746 Mintage The obverse legend reads “PHILIPPVS V D. G. HISPANIARVM ANO”
1710 L H 44,061
1710 L M —– (Included in 1710 LH mintage)
1711 L M 64,226
1712 L M 51,248
1713 L M 40,295
1713/2 L M —– (Included in 1713 LM mintage)
1714 L M 42,627
1714/3 L M —– (Included in 1714 LM mintage)
1715 L M 61,586
1716 L M 66,515
1717 L M 55,691
1718 L M 65,657
1718/7 L M —– (Included in 1718 LM mintage)
1719 L M 60,234
1719/8 L M —– (Included in 1719 LM mintage)
1720 L M 53,003
1720/19 L M —– (Included in 1720 LM mintage)
1721 L M 64,217
1722 L M 36,563
1723 L M 35,743
1723/22 L M —– (Included in 1723 LM mintage)
1724 L M 37,810
1725 L M 83,674 The obverse legend for this date reads “LUDOVICVS”
1725/4 L M —– (Included in 1725 LM mintage)
1726 L M 48,734
1727 L M 60,378
1727/6 L M —– (Included in 1727 LM mintage)
1727 L N —– (Included in 1727 LM mintage)
1728 L N 42,862
1729 L N 53,813
1730 L N 56,699
1730/29 L N —– (Included in 1730 LN mintage)
1731 L N 36,390
1731/0 L N —– (Included in 1731 mintage)
1732 L N 57,487
1733 L N 48,875
1734 L N 62,476
1735/4 L N —– Very Rare
1735 L N 57,496
1736 L N 35,504
1737 L N 159,179
1738 L N 129,603
1738/7 L N —– (Included in 1738 mintage)
1739 L N 106,775
1739/8 V/N —– Very Rare
1739 L N 106,775
1739 L V —– (Included in 1739 LN mintage)
1739/7 L V —– (Included in 1739 mintage)
1740/39 L V 70,070
1740 L V —– (Included in 1740/39 LV mintage)
1741 L V 92,320
1742 L V 78,386
1743 L V 90,553
1743/2 L V —– (Included in 1743 mintage)
1744 L V 99,962
1744/3 L V —– (Included in 1744 LV mintage)
1745 – 1746 Mintage The obverse legend reads “PHILIPPVS V D. G. HISPANIARVM”
1745 L V 50,743 (With stars in the obverse field – included in 1745 mintage)
1745 L V 50,743 (Without stars – included in 1745 mintage)
1746 L V 85,211 (With dots in the obverse field – included in 1746 mintage)
1746 L V 85,211 (With stars in the obverse field – included in 1746 mintage)
1746/5 L V —– (Included in 1746 LV mintage)
1747 – 1750 Mintage The obverse legend reads “FERDINANDVS VI D. G. HISPANIARVM”
1747 L V 76,228
1748 L R —– (Included in 1747 LV mintage)
1749/8 L R 93,582
1749 L R —– (Included in 1749/8 LV mintage)
1750 L R 95,433
For a current population census of Lima 8 Escudos currently graded by NGC, visit: https://www.ngccoin.com/census/world/peru-colonial-1659-1826/sc-250/8e/?c=294762&des=MS&grade=50&from=ngcresearch
For more information on Lima 8 Escudos, visit: https://www.sedwickcoins.com/articles/limagoldcobs.htm
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