Two Golden 8-Escudo Coins from the Frigate "Mercedes"

These gold coins, each with a value of 8 escudos (except for one which has a value of 2 escudos), were coined by machine and were part of the Spanish currency system during the Bourbon period. The system was reformed by Charles III in 1772 and was in place during the reigns of Charles III and Charles IV.

These particular coins are from the frigate "Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes," which sank in 1804 following the attack at Cape Santa Maria by an English fleet. The frigate was traveling to Spain, carrying treasure from the viceroyalties, meaning that these coins were made in the mints of Spain's overseas territories. Most of them were coined in Lima in 1803, although some were coined in Potosí, Popayán, and Santiago de Chile. Unlike the silver coins found in the wreck, gold coins were scarcer: only 212 of them were found. The fragments of textile found, and the shape of some of the blocks of coins, reveal that the coins were transported in cloth bags and wooden chests.

Many of the coins that were found in the wreck were mechanically manufactured using a coining press, producing perfect circles with engraved edges. They feature the King's image on the obverse, along with an inscription and a dotted line around the entire face. On the back is a crowned shield surrounded by the collar of the Golden Fleece and quartered with the coats of arms of Aragon, Sicily, Austria, new Burgundy, Parma, Tuscany, old Burgundy, Flanders, Tirol, and Brabant. In the center is another quartering with the coats of arms of Castile, Leon, and Granada, and in the center of that is a Bourbon escutcheon.