Bolivia 8 Reales 1618-21 "Atocha Research Collection" PCGS VF
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BOLIVIA, Potosí, cob 8 reales, ca. 1620, Philip III, Assayer T — Atocha Shipwreck Pedigree
Struck in the shadow of the rich Cerro Rico ("Rich Mountain") of Potosí, this cob 8 reales coin (KM-10; Cal-Type 165) hails from the legendary Bolivian mint that was the beating heart of Spain’s silver empire. Weighing 24.52 grams, this piece is a bold specimen of colonial Spanish coinage under King Philip III, showcasing a full Habsburg shield and Jerusalem cross design. The assayer's mark P+T is crisply visible to the left of the shield, opposite the denomination O-VIII, signaling the coin’s value in reales.
The “P” stands for Potosí, while the “T” identifies the assayer as Alonso Téllez, one of the official mint assayers during the transitional years around 1620. Téllez worked during a period of administrative flux and tightening royal oversight at the Potosí mint, a facility known for both its prodigious output and repeated scandals involving silver fineness fraud. His tenure overlaps the reign of Philip III (1598–1621), when Spain’s imperial ambitions remained strong, though increasingly strained by war debts and colonial overreach. Téllez’s initials confirm that this piece met royal standards of weight and fineness before it ever boarded the doomed Atocha.
This coin is believed to have sailed aboard the Nuestra Señora de Atocha, the Spanish treasure galleon that sank in a 1622 hurricane off the coast of the Florida Keys. Laden with riches from across the Spanish Americas—silver from Potosí, gold from Lima and Bogotá, and emeralds from Colombia—the Atocha was part of the annual Tierra Firme fleet. Delayed in Havana and overtaken by a hurricane days after departing, she went down with over 200 souls and an unfathomable trove of wealth.
Rediscovered by Mel Fisher and his team in 1985 after a 16-year search, the Atocha wreck yielded one of the most extraordinary treasure finds in modern times. This coin was previously cataloged in the Ponterio auction of February 2000 (Lot 348) as a Grade 1 Atocha specimen, a distinction reserved for coins showing sharp detail with minimal corrosion—especially rare for silver exposed to saltwater over three centuries. Though its original Treasure Salvors certificate and tag are now missing, the coin remains a historically rich artifact, well-documented and pedigreed.
With lightly porous surfaces and a natural brown tone from centuries underwater, this coin stands as a silent witness to colonial ambition, maritime tragedy, and rediscovered history—a rare survivor from the depths, touched by the hands of empire.
Click Here to read more about the 'Atocha 1622 Shipwreck'
Struck in the shadow of the rich Cerro Rico ("Rich Mountain") of Potosí, this cob 8 reales coin (KM-10; Cal-Type 165) hails from the legendary Bolivian mint that was the beating heart of Spain’s silver empire. Weighing 24.52 grams, this piece is a bold specimen of colonial Spanish coinage under King Philip III, showcasing a full Habsburg shield and Jerusalem cross design. The assayer's mark P+T is crisply visible to the left of the shield, opposite the denomination O-VIII, signaling the coin’s value in reales.
The “P” stands for Potosí, while the “T” identifies the assayer as Alonso Téllez, one of the official mint assayers during the transitional years around 1620. Téllez worked during a period of administrative flux and tightening royal oversight at the Potosí mint, a facility known for both its prodigious output and repeated scandals involving silver fineness fraud. His tenure overlaps the reign of Philip III (1598–1621), when Spain’s imperial ambitions remained strong, though increasingly strained by war debts and colonial overreach. Téllez’s initials confirm that this piece met royal standards of weight and fineness before it ever boarded the doomed Atocha.
This coin is believed to have sailed aboard the Nuestra Señora de Atocha, the Spanish treasure galleon that sank in a 1622 hurricane off the coast of the Florida Keys. Laden with riches from across the Spanish Americas—silver from Potosí, gold from Lima and Bogotá, and emeralds from Colombia—the Atocha was part of the annual Tierra Firme fleet. Delayed in Havana and overtaken by a hurricane days after departing, she went down with over 200 souls and an unfathomable trove of wealth.
Rediscovered by Mel Fisher and his team in 1985 after a 16-year search, the Atocha wreck yielded one of the most extraordinary treasure finds in modern times. This coin was previously cataloged in the Ponterio auction of February 2000 (Lot 348) as a Grade 1 Atocha specimen, a distinction reserved for coins showing sharp detail with minimal corrosion—especially rare for silver exposed to saltwater over three centuries. Though its original Treasure Salvors certificate and tag are now missing, the coin remains a historically rich artifact, well-documented and pedigreed.
With lightly porous surfaces and a natural brown tone from centuries underwater, this coin stands as a silent witness to colonial ambition, maritime tragedy, and rediscovered history—a rare survivor from the depths, touched by the hands of empire.
Click Here to read more about the 'Atocha 1622 Shipwreck'
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