Mintages for Lima 8 Escudos From 1659-1750

1713/12 Lima 8 Escudos obverseWhen 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.

1722 Lima 8 EscudosTo 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 readsPHILIPPVS 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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