Own Any Mexican Coins? They Could Be Worth Up to $528,000
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Vance Cariaga
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Daria Uhlig
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Avid coin collectors in search of old, rare and valuable finds will discover a treasure trove in Mexican coins. The earliest specimens date back nearly 500 years, and if you come across one, you could find yourself more than half-a-million dollars richer.
Mexico began producing its first coins in the mid-1530s when the Spanish colony built a mint on the site of the Casa Dengrida, where the Emperor Moctezuma once meditated, according to CoinValueLookup. It was the first mint of its kind in the Americas.
Among the most famous and valuable coins of the early period are the Rincon 8 Reales produced in 1538. For a long time this coin was more rumor than reality. But as Heritage Auctions noted, in 1990 three of the Rincon 8 Reales were recovered from the shipwrecked Golden Fleece, which sunk around 1550.
These three coins show signs of how difficult production was back then. “The legends show evidence of double striking and numerous breaks,” CoinValueLookup noted. Even so, the coins were in excellent condition and had almost no saltwater damage.
A 1538 8 Reales is far and away the most valuable Mexican coin ever recorded, having sold at auction in 2016 for $528,000. But it’s not the only one that can command an extremely high price.
Another is a 1714 “Royal” 8 Escudos, which CoinValueLookup described as a very rare coin that might have been minted to celebrate that year’s marriage between Spain’s King Phillip V and Elizabeth Farnese. Overseas colonies might’ve struck the coins specifically to present them as gifts to the royal couple. In any case, this coin sold for $310,500 in 2008.
Here are some of other high-value Mexican coins based on their sale prices, according to CoinValueLookup:
- 1732 8 Reales: $130,000
- 1823 “Pattern” 8 Reales: $120,750
- 1650 “Royal” 8 Reales: $92,000
- 1823 8 Reales: $89,125
- 1915 Guerrero 2 Pesos: $48,300
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