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8 Reales - Ferdinand VII Countermark on Peru 8 Reales
| Issuer | Philippines |
|---|---|
| Year | 1832-1834 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 8 Reals |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
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| Technique | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | The obverse displays the host coin's central design of a standing allegorical figure of Liberty, helmeted and draped, holding a long spear in her left hand and a large oval shield in her right, with a Phrygian cap at her feet to the lower left. Applied prominently at the center of the shield is the Philippine oval countermark bearing a crowned 'F.7.o' cypher, the mark of Ferdinand VII, applied by Philippine authorities to validate the coin for local circulation. The circumferential legend reads FIRME Y FELIZ POR LA UNION with LIBERTAD completing the inscription, all within a toothed border. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse script | Latin |
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| Additional information |
When Spanish colonial trade silver flooded into the Philippines faster than the Manila mint could verify it, the colonial government authorized a series of countermarks to authenticate foreign-struck pieces for local circulation. The Ferdinand VII bust countermark applied to Peruvian 8 reales was one such measure — coins struck in Lima were independently restruck with a small crowned "F·7°" punch to validate them as legal tender in the archipelago.
The window between 1832 and 1834 is narrow, reflecting how quickly the system was superseded by locally produced coinage. Host coins showing wear prior to countermarking are the norm, not the exception.