Philip V half reales

by Brad Yonaka

Introduction

The milled columnario half real is one of five denominations of silver coinage produced by the Mexico City mint from 1732 to 1771. It was the smallest silver coin for its time from that mint, the quarter real only being struck for the first time in 1796. The milled half real was preceded by cob coinage (which overlaps to 1733), and followed by portrait-type milled coinage in 1772. The famous and symbolic pillar and globe design makes it highly collectible, at least as a type coin. Despite this, there is little information on mintages and an incomplete accounting of major varieties for the forty year span of issue.

In general, it can be said that production of half reales was for the most part stable, but fluctuated over periods of five or more years. An early pulse of mintage from 1734 to 1740 was followed by less production from 1741-1745. Then a period of increasing mintage from 1746-1758 (with the stark exception of 1756) and gradual decrease to very low mintages in 1766. Thereafter occurred another gradual increase to the end of the series.
The following table was compliled by Brad Yonaka.

The alpha-numeric sequence assigned to each type is per the system created by Gilboy{footnote}Frank F. Gilboy, The Milled Columnarios of Central and South America. Regina, Canada: Prairie Wind Publishing, Inc., 1999.{/footnote}), as this is by far the most comprehensive of all references. Cases where Gilboy) does not report the variety, I have assigned suffixes starting with the letter u, v, etc, and show the number sequence in red. I also show (where applicable) the number assigned by Cayon{footnote} Adolfo Cayon, Clemente Cayon, and Juan Cayon, Las Monedas Espanoles Volumen I – Del tremis al euro. Madrid, Spain: Cayon-Jano S.L., 2005{/footnote}.

Rarity is taken from personal data on abundance of specimens. In most cases it correlates well with Gilboy in a relative sense, given that his database must have been many times larger. Where Brad Yonaka has not observed the variety, rarity is per that of Gilboy.

Gilboy # or (added)	Cayon#	Date	Assayer's Initial	Mint mark	Rarity*	Variety
M-05-1var		1732			S	no assayer's initial
	Type struck without placing assayer initials or mintmark on coin. Gilboy postulates that this type was struck from trial matrices sent from Spain. A significant number of examples have been observed, many more than would be expected for a type considered to be extremely rare. The importance and novelty of the coin may explain why so many are preserved and have appeared in auction. Three of the obverse dies, and two reverse dies, are exhibited solely by examples residing in the Banco de Mexico collection.
M-05-1	8229	1732	F		(R5)	chief assayer's initial only
	ype not observed. Gilboy classifies type as extremely rare.
M-05-2	8230	1732	MF		RRRR
	One die pair observed. A curious variety, considering that the assayer M (Manuel de León) only began work at the mint in 1733.
M-05-3	8237	1733	F		(R5)	chief assayer's initial only
	Type not observed. Gilboy classifies type as extremely rare.
M-05-4	8236	1733	F	M-X	(R5)	MX mintmark, chief assayer's initial only
	Type not observed. Gilboy classifies type as extremely rare.
M-05-5	8239	1733	MF	M·X	N	MX mintmark
			Most abundant type for year, with three different reverse dies observed. Gilboy rates these as much more rare than I have observed.
M-05-6	8240	1733	MF		RRRR
	Only two die pairs observed. One of the obverse dies is shared with M-05-5.
(M-05-6u)	-	1733/2	MF		RRR	one year OD
	Type noted in SCWC, not in Gilboy. Only one die pair observed.
M-05-7	8246	1734	MF	S
	Abundant die pairs. Many well struck examples observed.
M-05-7a	8245	1734/3	MF		N	None year OD
			Relatively common overdate, with many different reverse dies. Some sharing of obverse dies with M-05-7.
M-05-7b	-	1734	MF		RRR	cinquefoil below assayers' initials
	Very rare variety for year with only two die pairs observed.
M-05-8	8253	1735	MF		C
	Common issue, with over 15 observed die pairs.
M-05-8a	8252	1735/4	MF		RRR	one year OD
			Rare OD, only three die pairs observed.
(M-05-8u)	-	1735/3	MF		RR	two year OD
	Not noted in references. Rare OD, only two die pairs observed. Higher grade examples needed to confirm 5/3 designation.
M-05-9	8260	1736	MF		C
	Most common date and type for Philip V.
M-05-9a	8259	1736/5	MF		RRR	one year OD
			Very rare OD, one die pair observed.
(M-05-9u)	(8258)	1736	F		RRRR	chief assayer's initial only
					Variety discussed by Gilboy in footnote as being exceedingly rare, but type is not listed in text of book. Must have been produced using obverse die from 1733. Cayon lists type as a 1736/3 OD, but this is not exhibited on only observed example, nor could the obverse die be matched with any known example from 1733.
FM-05-10	8269	1737	MF		C
(M-05-10u)	8268	1737/6	MF		RRRR	one year OD
	Variety noted in SCWC and Cayon, not in Gilboy. Only one die pair observed.
(M-05-10v}	-	1737	MF		RRRR	large F in assayer's initials
	Variety not noted in references. F punch may have been taken from set for one real dies. Commonly seen fake exists, all examples have been from same die pair.
M-05-11	8276	1738	MF		C
	Common type, over 15 die pairs observed.
M-05-11a	-	1738/7	MF		RR	one year OD
			Very rare variety. Only one die pair observed.
M-05-11b	-	1738/5	MF		RRRR	three year OD
	Very rare variety. Only one die pair observed.
M-05-11c	-	1738	MF		RR	cinquefoil below assayer's initials
	Rare variety, only two die pairs observed. Shares one reverse die with M-05-11.
M-05-12	8282	1739	MF		C
	Second most common type for Philip V. No obversed or listed varieties for this date. Some reverse dies show repunching of 7 and 3. Cayon notes variety with pellet between 3 and 9 (not observed).
M-05-13	8289	1740	MF		C
	Common date, over 15 die pairs observed.
M-05-13a	8288	1740/30	MF		R	decade OD
			Listed as extremely rare by Gilboy, but five die pairs observed
(M-05-13u)	-	1740/39	MF		RRR	one year OD
	Unlisted in references, only one die pair observed. All examples have numerous die cracks.
M-05-14	8294	1741	MF		C
	No listed or observed varietites for this year.
Beginning in 1742, coin obverse design changed, shortening legend and moving shield upward. Chief assayer initial moved to reverse, at right of date.
M-05-15	8298	1742	M		C
	Common date.
(M-05-15u)	-	1742	M		RRR	No pellet to right of date
			Unlisted in references, only one die pair observed. This design variety is, however, listed for 1746 (M-05-19a).
M-05-16	8302	1743	M		N
	Scarce date.
(M-05-16u)	-	1743/2	M		RRR	one year OD
			Unlisted in references. Only one die pair observed. Difficult to see in lower grades, due to similarity of 3 and 2.
M-05-17	8307	1744	M		N
	Relatively uncommon date
M-05-17a	8306	1744/3	M		S	one year OD
			Rare overdate, only two die pairs observed.
M-05-18	8312	1745	M		C
	Common date.
M-05-18a	-	1745	M		(R)	legend has EST IND instead of ET IND
	Variety listed in Gilboy, has not been observed.
M-05-19	8317	1746	M		C
	Common date.
M-05-19a	-	1746	M		R	No pellet to right of date
	Very rare variety. Only one die pair observed. Gilboy, however, lists it as 'scarce'.
(M-05-19u)	-	1746/5	M		N/A
M-05-20	8321	1747	M		N	PHS V
	Posthumous issue for Philip V. About same abundance as M-05-21. Less common date.

Rarity scale used, with the exception of those by Gilboy (shown in paratheses in table)

The Transitional 8 Reales of Philip V Struck at the Mexico City Mint 1732-1734

by Kent Ponterio

The Mexico City Mint underwent dramatic changes during the early 1730s. The introduction of new minting equipment and gradual phasing out of older coining methods resulted in a transitional period, producing numerous different coinage types and varieties. The numismatic findings recovered from the Dutch East Indiaman "Rooswijk" are largely focused on this area and offer a rare opportunity for Mexican numismatists to better study and understand the coinage of this period. With the uncovering of hoards and shipwreck finds, new discoveries are often made helping numismatists grasp a better understanding of coins and how they were produced.

In 1536 the Mexico City Mint became the first mint to produce coins in the New World. Initially the mint used the method of hammering coins by hand. This method remained in use until it was eventually phased out by the screw press some time in the year 1733. A royal decree was issued on 9 June 1728 authorizing the Mexico City mint to strike new milled coinage{footnote}A. F. Pradeau, Numismatic History of Mexico from the Pre-Colombian epoch to 1823, Los Angeles, 1938, p.53{/footnote}. This set in motion a series of events that would drastically change and modernize the mint.
1. Patterns for the new milled coinage or "Pillar Dollar" as they are often called dated 1729 were struck at the Madrid Mint in Spain. An example of one such specimen can be seen in the introduction to Frank Gilboy's The Milled Columnarios of Central and South America{footnote}Frank F. Gilboy, The Milled Columnarios of Central and South America., Canada 1999{/footnote}. These were shipped to the New World mints as samples of the new coinage type. One such example is housed in the Mexico City Mint Museum's collection.
2. New minting equipment was imported from Spain, in effect mechanizing the mint with state-of-the-art machinery.

• Screw presses to more efficiently strike coins .
• Mule-powered roller presses for flattening silver into sheets used in the production of coin planchets.
• Cylindrical punches for the cutting of planchets from sheets of metal.
• Edge milling machinery enabling coins to be produced with anornamented edge, protecting it from clipping and counterfeiting

After the arrival of the new equipment the first milled coins or "Pillar Dollars" were struck on 29 March 1732{footnote}Pradeau, op. cit. p.53{/footnote}. Prior to this date the mint used the method of hammering coins by hand, known as "cobs". Although the origin of the term "cob" is uncertain, it is most likely an abbreviation that derives from the Spanish term "cabo de barra," meaning end of the bar. A name adopted due to the planchets method of manufacture, cobs were hand struck on crude planchets that were cut from the end of a silver bar. During 1732, production continued for "Cobs" and commenced for the first "Milled" coinage.

KM-47a; Cal-764; Calb-732 1732 8 Reales Mo F cob (Stack’s Bowers Baltimore auction, June 2014, lot 6238)

KM-103 8 Reales 1732  Mo F milled (Stack’s Bowers ANA Auction, 20 August 2021, lot 41138)

1733 8 Reales

In the following year, 1733 the mint produced more different types and varieties of 8 Reales than in any other single year. Four major different types of 8 Reales were produced: Cobs, Cobs struck with "Klippe" dies, Klippes and the Milled "Pillar Dollars". Of the four major types there are multiple varieties for each type, most of which are listed below. This year marks the end of the "Cob" coinage as its fmal year of production.

8 Reales 1733 Cob

• 1733/2 Mo F
• 1733 Mo F

8 Reales 1733 Cob struck with Klippe Dies

• 1733 Mo F Coin Die Axis

KM 48 8 reales 1733 Mo F klippe on cob (Stack’s Bowers NYINC Auction, 7 January 2011, lot 21)

• 1733 Mo F Medallic Die Axis
• 1733 Mo MF Medallic Die Axis
• 1733 Mo MF Medaliic Die Axis, Dot below denomination

8 Reales 1733 Klippe

 • 1733 Mo MF Coin Die Axis

KM 48 8r klippe 1733 Mo MF (Stack’s Bowers NYINC Auction, 13 January 2023, lot 21148)

• 1733 Mo MF Medallic Die Axis
• 1733 Mo MF Medallic Die Axis, Dot below denomination

8 Reales 1733 Milled

KM-103 8 reales1733/2  MX F (Stack’s Bowers Baltimore Winter 2014 Auction, lot 481)

• 1733/2 MX F

KM 103 8r 1733 MX F (Stack’s Bowers NYINC auction, 13 January 2023, lot 21150)

• 1733 MX F Small Crown
• 1733 MX F Large Crown
• 1733 MX MF Dot above assayer's letters
• 1733 MX MF Without dot above assayer's letters

KM 103 8r 1733 Mo F (Stack’s Bowers NYINC auction, 13 January 2023, lot 21149)

• 1733 Mo F

[additional note

KM-103 unlisted 1733/2 8r Mo MF {Briggs & Bustos, )

• 1733/2 Mo MF Small Crown, Dot above assayer's letters

Briggs & Bustos write “Brad Yonaka in his book A variety guide to the silver and copper coinage of the Mexico City Mint 1732-1771 {footnote}Brad Yonaka, A variety guide to the silver and copper coinage of the Mexico City Mint 1732-1771, 2020{/footnote}let us know that referring to a 8 columnar coin with overdate 1733/2 it is not only available in the already well known 1733 MX F, there is also in the Mo MF variant, being the first to formally catalog it … In fact, the illustrated specimen is the one offered here, coming from the auction 260-1 of Aureo & Calicó, lot no. 552 of May 27, 2014, corresponding to one of the deliveries of the Isabel de Trastámara collection."]

• 1733 Mo MF Small Crown, Dot above assayer's letters
• 1733 Mo MF Small Crown, Without dot above assayer's letters
• 1733 Mo MF Large Crown

1734 8 Reales

There were two major types of 8 Reales struck in 1734, Klippes and Milled "Pillar Dollars". This year marks the second and final year of the "Klippe" coinage. Clearly they were only struck for a portion of the year until they were completely phased out by the Milled "Pillar Dollar". The majority of 1734 "Klippes" were struck from recut dies of the previous year 1733. This would indicate a smaller number of dies were manufactured with the intent to strike coins. The 1734 Milled "Pillar Dollar" remains fairly common in comparison to the "Klippe". This reflects the fact that the striking of "Klippe" coinage was temporary until Milled "Pillar Dollar" production was successfully in full effect.

8 Reales 1734 Klippe

KM 48 8 reales 1734/3 Mo MF (Stack’s Bowers Auction, 26 August 2022, lot 34151)

• 1734/3 Mo MF
• 1734 Mo MF

8 Reales 1734 Milled

• 1734/3 Mo MF
• 1734 Mo MF

The exact reason the mint produced Cobs, Klippes and Milled coinage between 1732 and 1734 seems to be unknown. It's probable that the mint encountered multiple problems that played a large role in this strange occurrence. In a 1987 ANA lecture, Clyde Hubbard{footnote}Clyde Hubbard, 8 Reales of the Mexico City Mint 1730-1734, American Numismatic Association Numismatic Theatre, Atlanta, Georgia, 28 August 1987{/footnote} cited an original 18th century mint manuscript^{[text needed]} reporting that three new screw presses, along with other equipment in route from Spain to Veracruz, Mexico were lost when the ship carrying them sank off the coast of Little Cayman Island. The lack of essential equipment, combined with the time needed to properly train personnel on new minting machinery resulted in the production of several new and fascinating transitional issues during this period. By contemporary standards, both state-of-the-art and antiquated minting machinery were in operation simultaneously. This resulted in the production of several new coinage types unique to this period of Mexican numismatics. In 1734 the mint discontinued the production of the short-lived Klippes and converted solely to the striking of milled "Pillar Dollars".

Checklist of Philip V Milled 8 Reales

Original work by Freeman Craig with additional research by Kent Ponterio

KM-103; Cal-type-146 #774; Gil M-8-1; FC-1 8 Reales 1732 Mo F (Stack's Bowers ANA Auction, 20 August 2021, lot 41138)

The aim of this work is to provide collectors with a better understanding of Philip V 8 reales coinage and the relative rarities of dates and varieties. It is based on Freeman L. Craig’s Spanish Colonial Eight Reales{footnote}Freeman L. Craig, Spanish Colonial Eight Reales, 19 {/footnote}” supplemented by my knowledge of shipwreck and land finds which in several cases have drastically changed the populations of certain dates.

Freeman Craig developed  a unique numbering system where dates and major types are assigned a unique number with sub-letter for major variants.. In the following table these are cross referenced to Carlos Elizondo’s Eight Reales and Pesos of the New World{footnote}Carlos Elizondo,  Eight Reales and Pesos of the New World{/footnote}. 

 
The rarity scale is

Gold milled coinage of Philip V

One escudo

KM-113 1E 1732 Mo F (Heritage sale 3041, August 2015, lot 31001)

KM-113 1E 1735/4 Mo MF (Stack’s Bowers auction, 16 January 2021, lot 22198)

KM-113 1E 1746/5 Mo MF (Stack’s Bowers auction, 13 October 2021, lot 71399)

Two escudos

KM-124 2E 1732 Mo F (Heritage sale 3041, August 2015, lot 31021)

KM-124 2E 1739 Mo MF (Stack’s Bowers auction, 24 February 2026, lot 76299)


KM-124 2E 1745 Mo MF (Stack’s Bowers Baltimore auction, November 2015, lot 39352)

Four escudos 

KM-135 4E 1732 Mo F (Stack’s Bowers NYINC auction, January 2015, lot 1257)

KM-135 4E 1734/3 Mo MF (Stack’s Bowers auction, 26 August 2025, lot 41287)


KM-135 4E 1740/30 Mo MF (Stack’s Bowers auction, 13 January 2024, lot 53120)

Eight escudos

KM-148 8E 1732 Mo (Stack's Bowers Eliasberg Collection, 15 April 2005, lot 3083)

KM-148 8E 1733 Mo F (Stack’s Bowers auction, 16 January 2021, lot 21058)


KM-148 8E 1738/7 Mo MF (Stack’s Bowers auction, 26 August 2025, lot 41286)

KM-148 8E 1743/2 Mo MF (Stack’s Bowers auction, 6 August 2020, lot 21467)

While faint, a small curvature at the top of 3 in the date confirms the 3/2 overdate.