1753 8 Escudos (LM-J)

The 8 escudos - colloquially the 'onza' or simply the 'doubloon' - was the largest regular gold denomination of the Spanish Empire and one of the most important international trade coins of the 18th century. At roughly 27 grams of .917 gold, it underwrote trade from Lima and Mexico City to Cádiz, Manila, and the merchant houses of Amsterdam and London.

This piece was struck in 1753 at the Lima mint (mintmark LM, with assayer J for José de Larrea y Loredo) under King Ferdinand VI of Spain (1746-1759), the second Bourbon monarch of the new dynasty after Philip V. Ferdinand's reign was a quieter, reform-minded interlude between his father's wars and the more famous reign of his half-brother Charles III, and his Lima 8 escudos are among the most carefully engraved bust gold of the era.

The obverse shows the armored, draped, and bewigged bust of Ferdinand VI right, with the legend FERD[INANDUS] ND[OMINUS] VI D[EI] G[RATIA] HISPAN[IARUM] ET IND[IARUM] REX - "Ferdinand VI, by the Grace of God, King of the Spains and the Indies" - and the date 1753 below.

The reverse carries the elaborate crowned Bourbon arms of Spain, quartered with Castile, León, Aragon, Granada and the Bourbon fleurs-de-lys at center, flanked by the assayer's initial J and the denomination 8, with mintmark LM at the base. The legend reads NOMINA MAGNA SEQUOR - "I follow great names" - around the upper field with SAPIENTIA ET TIMOR DOMINI - "Wisdom and the fear of the Lord" - the personal motto Ferdinand adopted for his coinage.

NGC AU-55 is an outstanding grade for a circulating colonial 8 escudos: the king's curls, drapery, and the fine detail of the crowned shield all remain crisp, and this example carries soft rose and purple cabinet toning across the gold surfaces - unusual on gold and the unmistakable signature of long, undisturbed storage in an old collector's cabinet.