How to Identify Spanish Coins

Familiarize yourself with the Spanish doubloon, one of the most famous historical coins. The Royal Hapsburg family coat of arms is pictured on the obverse (front) of this gold coin.The doubloon̵7;s reverse features a ̶0;Crusader̵7;s Cross,̶1; a lion, and a castle. Doubloons were handmade so most of them weren't uniformly round like today's coins; often excess bits would be cut by hand. The doubloon, which was minted in Spain, Mexico and Peru from the 16th century to the mid-19th century, initially had a two-escudo denomination. In later years, they were also issued in one, four and eight escudo amounts.

Look closely at coins said to come from shipwrecks. Cobs, or crude coins fashioned with hammers and the later milled silver and gold coins, are the most prevalent Spanish ones. Cobs were often cut off the end of silver bars and have the same excess "blobs" of metal jutting out from the coin as doubloons. Early cob coins (1536 to the late 1500s) had classic pillars on the front and a shield on the reverse (back). A Hapsburg shield graced the front of later cobs, while a full cross was pictured on the back (roughly 1570 to 1733). Pillar coins, milled in silver only, are dated from the mid 1700s to 1771. Mechanically produced bust shipwreck reales (another name for a unit of Spanish coinage), were cast in both gold and silver. The silver coins are usually tarnished deeply by water damage, while gold coins retain their original shape and luster far longer.

Examine silver coins that could be a piece of eight, or Spanish silver dollar. The coin bears the bust of Spain̵7;s King Carlos III on the obverse, and a coat of arms and the pillars of Hercules on the back. This renowned silver coin, worth eight reales, was first issued in 1497. The piece of eight was used in the American colonies until the fledgling country issued its own currency in 1857. Like the silver cobs, they were often found in shipwrecks. The most notable haul was in the El Cazador wreck, which went down off the Louisiana coast in 1784.