Spanish Silver Dollar, 1821
date: label: date made
content: 1821
name: label: ruler
content: Ferdinand VII King of Spain
label: issuing authority
content: Guadalajara Mint
notes: label: Description (Brief)
content: One (1) 8 real coin
label: Description (Brief)
content: Mexico, 1821
label: Description (Brief)
content: Obverse Image: Portrait of Ferdinand VII.
label: Description (Brief)
content: Obverse Text: DEL GRATIA / 1821 / FERDIN VII
label: Description (Brief)
content: Reverse Image: Two (2) pillars with shield and crown. Images of lions and castles are on the shield.
label: Description (Brief)
content: Reverse Text: HISPAN / ET / IND / G / 8R / F / S
label: Description
content: This silver Spanish dollar (also known as an eight real coin or piece of eight) was minted around 1821. The obverse, or front, of the coin has a profile portrait of King Ferdinand the VII. The coin reads “Del Gratia 1821 Ferdin VII,” (Ferdinand VII by the Grace of God, 1821). The reverse has an image of Spain’s Pillars of Hercules lesser royal coat of arms. The reverse reads, “HISPAN ET IND REX Ga 8R FS” (King of the Spains and the Indies, Guadalajara, 8 reales). The initials “FS” belong to the coin’s assayer.
label: Description
content: Spanish dollars were the monies of choice when coins were available in Colonial America, and Americans liked them so much that they eventually based their own U.S. dollar on the Spanish real. In early years reales were actually preferred to dollars because the coins contained more silver. There was even a scam to trade American dollars for reales in the West Indies, after which they would be returned to the United States and turned into the U.S. Mint for melting so as to make a profit by getting paid back in new dollars.
place: label: place of issue
content: Mexico
setName: label: See more items in
content: Work and Industry: National Numismatic Collection
label: See more items in
content: American Enterprise
label: See more items in
content: Coins, Currency and Medals
label: Exhibition
content: American Enterprise
label: Exhibition Location
content: National Museum of American History
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: U.S. Department of the Treasury. Bureau of the Mint
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: 1992.0121.0181
label: catalog number
content: 1992.0121.0181
label: accession number
content: 1992.0121
objectType: label: Object Name
content: coin
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: silver (overall metal)
label: Physical Description
content: 0 (overall die axis)
label: Physical Description
content: 0 (overall die axis measurement)
label: Physical Description
content: struck (overall production method)
label: Measurements
content: overall: .2 cm x 4 cm; 3/32 in x 1 9/16 in