1650 Potosi 8 Reales PCGS XF Details – Capitana Shipwreck
Item #CC-0659 | 1650 Potosi 8 Reales PCGS XF Details – Capitana Shipwreck
Mint: Potosi, Bolivia
Ruler/Period: King Philip IV
Assayer: “O” Juan Rodriguez de Rodas
Grade: XF Details
For details and population on this coin from PCGS, click on the serial number here: 49910179
Description: This superb 1650 Potosí Piece of Eight was recovered from the shipwreck of the Spanish Galleon La Capitana.
The Capitana was a Spanish treasure galleon that sank in 1654 while transporting millions of Pieces of Eight and other precious cargo from Spanish Colinial America to Spain. As the flagship of a fleet known as the Flota de la Plata (Silver Fleet), it left from Callao, Peru, and headed North to Panama before setting out across the Atlantic. However, during its journey, the heavily laden ship encountered treacherous waters off the coast of Ecuador and sank near Chanduy Bay.
The loss of the Capitana was a devastating blow to Spain, as it carried an enormous amount of wealth intended to fund the empire’s European campaigns. Attempts were made to recover the silver soon after, with Spanish divers managing to retrieve a portion of the treasure, though much remained on the seabed. Centuries later, modern treasure hunters and archaeologists rediscovered the site, uncovering artifacts and coins that offered insights into Spain’s colonial economy and its vast maritime network. The shipwreck of the Capitana remains one of the iconic tales of Spain’s lost treasures from the Age of Exploration.
On the obverse of this coin, you have a complete and almost perfectly centered Hapsburg shield with the base of the crown at the top. To the left of the shield you have the mint mark “P” for Potosi and the assayer’s initial “O”, which represents Juan Rodriguez de Rodas. To the right of the shield is a well struck “8” for the denomination. You can even see most of the legend that reads PHILIPVS IIII D.G. HISPANIA. In addition, there is a very strong devaluation crown counterstamp that was struck during the time of the Great Potosi Mint Fraud!
The Great Potosí Mint Fraud of 1649 was a financial fraud involving the fineness of silver coinage that began in Potosí, Spanish Viceroyalty of Peru, now Bolivia. The scandal had worldwide effects that lasted for decades.
Rumors of the fineness of the silver coins from Potosí began to circulate in the early 17th century. Slave owners and mint officials blamed the mint slaves for the reduced fineness of coins minted at Potosí. Complaints from the Kingdom of Aragon and the Kingdom of Castile in 1648 asserted the coins to be worth as little as 5 reales instead of 8 reales. Royal trials confirmed the coins from Potosí contained only 75% of the silver they were supposed to contain. In response to this, King Philip sent Francisco de Nestares Marín, a former inquisitor, to investigate the situation. He began his investigation at the end of 1648.
Marín’s investigation revealed that the fraud permeated the entire silver operation. Key figures in the fraud were Francisco Gómez de la Rocha, a rich former corregidor of Potosí, and Juan Ramírez de Arellano, an assayer at the mint. Both of them were executed for their crimes, and other assayers at the mint were fined or removed from their positions. The corregidor of Potosí was removed from his position and imprisoned. Several silver merchants were also executed.
On the reverse of the coin, you have an almost perfectly centered cross with well struck castles and lions and portions of the legend. Most importantly, you have a crisp and clear 1650 full date, which is very rare indeed.
Of all the Capitana shipwreck coins we have seen, this one is by far the finest, which is probably why it was one of the prized possessions of the S.P. Rutherford collection.
In stock
$3,850.00
