Checklist of Philip V Milled 8 Reales

Original work by Freeman Craig with additional research by Kent Ponterio

1732 Philip V 8R obverse 1732 Philip V 8R reverse

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^{Freeman L. Craig, Spanish Colonial Eight Reales, 19}” 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^{Carlos Elizondo, Eight Reales and Pesos of the New World}.

Freeman Craig No.	Elizando	Date	Assayer's Initials	Mint mark	Rarity
1	1	1732	F	Mo	3	Minor variants exist
	Most surviving examples are recovered from shipwreck finds, predominantly from wrecks such as the Rooswijk, Reijgersdaal, Holandia and 1733 Plate Fleet. Although not particularly rare as a date, 1732 Pillar 8 Reales are ever popular with collectors as they are the first dated milled 8 Reales of Mexico. Non sea salvaged examples are very rare and command a large premium.
2	2	1733	F	Mo	5	Small crown only
	Most examples are recovered from the 1733 Plate Fleet with a smaller amount from other wrecks. Non sea salvaged examples are very rare and command a large premium. It is interesting to note that the 1733 Plate Fleet contained only coinage with the single letter “F” assayer’s letter.
3a	3	1733	MF	Mo	3	Small crown
	This is the most frequently encountered of any variant of 1733 8 Reales. Examples appear on the market on a semi regular basis, both from shipwreck and non-shipwreck sources. Variants exist with and without dot above the assayer’s letter. The variant without dot is exceedingly rare.
3b	4	1733	MF	Mo	7	Large crown
	Elusive and very underrated, much rarer than the small crown variety. Examination of shipwreck finds supports this. For example, the original sale of coins recovered from the Rooswijk contained 12 of the small crown variety, yet only 1 of the large crown. The rarest variant of 1733 8 Reales. The “Large crown” can also be referred to as the “MX” crown.
4	5a	1733/2	F	MX	7	Large crown
	An extremely rare over date produced from re-cutting an unused 1732 MX die. The 1732 MX dies are not known to have been used during that production year. It is likely that dies for this were produced late in 1732 and never used for regular coinage production. The date was then re-cut in 1733 creating this rare over date.
4b	6	1733	F	MX	5	Large crown
	Most surviving examples are recovered from the shipwrecks of the 1733 Plate Fleet with a handful of specimens from other wrecks. Non sea salvaged examples are very rare and command a large premium.
5	7	1733	MF	MX	6	Large crown
	Quite a bit rarer than the single letter assayer. On rare occasions shipwreck examples appear on the market, predominantly recovered from Dutch wrecks such as the Rooswijk. Non sea salvaged examples are very rare and command a large premium. Exists with and without dot above assayer’s letter. The variant without dot is exceedingly rare.
6b	8	1734/3	MF	Mo	2	Small crown, over date
	Among the more common over dates of Philip V, made more so by the numerous high grade examples recovered from the wreck of the Rooswijk
6a	9	1734	MF	Mo	1	Small crown, clean date
	Common as a date and available in most grades approaching uncirculated.
7a	-	1735/4	MF	Mo	9	Over Date
	The existence of this over date was confirmed in the 2006 auction of coins recovered from the Dutch wreck of the Rooswijk. Of the 67 pieces dated 1735 offered in the original catalogue only one was confirmed as an over date. Prior to this discovery the over date was unknown.
7	10	1735	MF	Mo	1	Clean date
	Common as a date and available in most grades approaching uncirculated.
8b	-	1736/5	MF	Mo	7	Over date
	There were a total of 80 pieces dated 1736 offered in the original Rooswijk catalogue of 2006, of that number only one was confirmed as an over date. The existence of this extremely rare over date was previous confirmed by the examination of two highly advanced collections. Still it remains extremely rare.
8a	11	1736	MF	Mo	1	Clean date
	Common as a date and available in most grades approaching uncirculated.
9	12	1737	MF	Mo	1	Clean date
	Common as a date and available in most grades approaching uncirculated. Two major varieties with die cutting error exist for this date. The first has inverted “A”s in place of “V”s in the obverse legend “VTRAQUE” and “VNUM”. The second uses an inverted “A” in place of the “V” in the word “VNUM” only. Both varieties are quite rare.
10b	14	1738/7	MF	Mo	5	Over date
	This over date is relatively scarce in comparison to the clean date on an average of 20-1.
10a	15	1738	MF	Mo	1	Clean date
	Common as a date and available in most grades approaching uncirculated.
11d	-	1739/6	MF	Mo	5	Over date
	Quite rare as an over date. Most known examples are as a result of the salvage of the Dutch shipwreck of the Reijgersdaal.
11c	-	1739/7	MF	Mo	6	Over date
	The rarest of the 1739 over dates.
11b	-	1739/8	MF	Mo	4	Over date
	The most frequently encountered of the 1739 over dates, still much scarcer than the clean date.
11a	16	1739	MF	Mo	1	Clean date
	Common as a date and available in most grades approaching uncirculated.
12b	17	1740(4/3)	MF	Mo	2	Over date
	This over date is a result of pre-prepared dies from the previous decade. I.E. during the 1730s dies would be made ahead of time dated “173” with the final digit blank. The logic in this was that at the beginning of each year the dies would already be made, all you would have to do would be to add the final digit. At the end of the 1730s some of these unfinished dies were left, hence they were recut with an over date for only the third digit of the date. Occasionally this over date is mistakenly catalogued as 1740/39.
12a	-	1740	MF	Mo	1	Clean date
	Common as a date and available in most grades approaching uncirculated.
-	-	1741/36	MF	Mo	9	Over date
	A single example of this over date has been confirmed, appearing in a Ponterio & Associates auction in the mid 1990s.
-	-	1741(4/3)	MF	Mo	5	Over Date
	This over date is a result of pre-prepared dies from the previous decade, similar to the 1740(4/3). I.E. during the 1730s dies would be made ahead of time dated “173” with the final digit blank. Several examples came to light as a result of the salvage of the Dutch shipwreck Reijgersdaal.
13	18	1741	MF	Mo	1	Clean date
	Common as a date and available in most grades approaching uncirculated.
14b	-	1742/1	MF	Mo	4	Over date
	Quite scarce as an over date. Most known examples are as a result of the salvage of the Dutch shipwreck of the Reijgersdaal.
15b	-	1743/2	MF	Mo	3	Over date
	Although much scarcer than the clean date this is one of the more frequently encountered over dates for Philip V.
15a	20	1743	MF	Mo	1	Clean Date
	Common as a date and available in most grades approaching uncirculated.
16c	-	1744/3	MF	Mo	5	Over date
	Quite rare as an over date. Most known examples are as a result of the salvage of the Dutch shipwreck of the Reijgersdaal.
16a	22	1744	MF	Mo	1	Wide date
	Common as a date and available in most grades approaching uncirculated.
16b	21	1744	MF	Mo	4	Closed date
	Much scarcer than the wide date variety.
17	23	1745	MF	Mo	1	Clean date
	Common as a date and available in most grades approaching uncirculated.
-	-	1746/4	MF	Mo	9	Over date
	Example cited in Ponterio & Associates February 2002 auction lot#332.
18b	-	1746/5	MF	Mo	6	Over date
	Quite rare as an over date.
18b	24	1746	MF	Mo	1	Clean Date
	Common as a date and available in most grades approaching uncirculated.
-	-	1746	MF	Mo	8	Spelling error
	Extremely rare spelling error where “VRTAQUE” is spelled “VTRUQUE”. Currently only three examples are confirmed to exist. Highly desirable and one of the rarest 8 Reales of Philip V.
19	25	1747	MF	Mo	2	Clean date
	Posthumous issue of Philip V. Although common as a date the 1747 issues of Philip V are slightly scarcer as they were only struck for a portion of the year before being replaced by coinage bearing the name of Ferdinand VI.

The rarity scale is

Rarity scale
R1	1000+ pieces exist
R2	500-1000 pieces exist
R3	100-500 pieces exist
R4	50-100 pieces exist
R5	20-50 known
R6	10-20 known
R7	5-10 known
R8	5 or less known
R9	Research could locate only one example