8 Reales (Spain-Strucked at Mexico-1734-27g- 903 Silver -40mm)
I have decided to add some comments so that every coin that I thread in is understood in it´s context.
This coins known as Columnarios in Spain and Pillar Dollars in the USA, were strucked in Spanish Colonial mints since 1732 to 1771, under the reigns of Philip V, Ferdinand VI, and Charles III.
It was considered to be the
trading coinage of the world. The most prestigiuos and valuable for trade, as it was reliable both for it´s weight (Castilian oz 27,07g) and the purity of silver (903m). It was in fact the coin that most of USA citizents had in their pockets at their independence days.
The $ symbol, (S with two bars), is understood to come from the "colums" of the coin we are talking today about. The "S" is supoused to come from the latin form of the Spanish gold coin of that time "EScudo".
The most popular mints of "Columnarios", were: Mexico, Lima, Potosí (Bolivia), Guatemala.
The most Precious and scarce: Madrid, Santiago de Chile and Popayan (Colombia).