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8 Reales - Fernando VII
| Issuer | Casa de Moneda de México (Mexican Mint) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1808-1811 |
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| Value | 8 Reales |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Laureate and draped bust of Ferdinand VII facing right, wearing a paludamentum fastened at the shoulder with a circular brooch, hair tied with a ribbon bow at the nape. The effigy is rendered in the neoclassical style introduced for Spanish colonial coinage in the late Bourbon period. The circular legend surrounds the bust, interrupted at the base by the four-digit date in the exergue area. A toothed or serrated inner border frames the entire obverse field. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Crowned quartered royal arms of Spain at center, displaying castles (Castile) and lions (León) in alternating quarters, with the granada (pomegranate) at the base of the shield. The Pillars of Hercules flank the shield on either side, each column wrapped with a ribbon bearing the motto PLUS ULTRA. The mint mark, assayer initials, and denomination appear in the field between the pillars and the shield. A toothed inner border encircles the entire reverse field. |
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| Additional information |
Fernando VII never set foot in the Americas, yet his effigy was struck across the colonial mints for years — a peculiar situation born from Napoleon's forced abdication of the Spanish Bourbons in 1808, which left the colonies in the awkward position of pledging loyalty to a king held prisoner in Valençay. The Mexico City mint continued striking in his name throughout the period, even as the independence movement that would eventually end Spanish rule was already taking shape around it.
The 1811 issues overlap directly with the Hidalgo revolt's aftermath.