View source for Mexico 1797-Mo FM 8 escudos

[[Image:Mexico 1797 8 escudos Aureo 261-0533g.jpg|550px|thumb|Aureo sale 261, lot 533]]

This specimen was lot 533 in Aureo y Calicó sale 261 (Barcelona, July 2014), where it sold for €800 (about US$1,283 including buyer's fees). The catalog description<sup>[1]</sup> noted, <blockquote>"''1797. Carlos IV. México. FM. 8 escudos. Levísimas rayitas en anverso. MBC/MBC+.'' (Charles IV, 1788-1808, eight escudos of 1797, [[Mexico]] mint. Light scratches on obverse, very fine or better.)"</blockquote> Assayer FM is recorded for the years 1784-1801. The eight escudos is among the more available Mexican colonial gold types though the recent rise in the price of gold has pushed this coin out of the reach of many collectors. This coin was legal tender in the United States, where it was known as a doubloon, and would have traded for $15.50. There is an overdate, 1796/5, recorded for the year. As few can afford to collect this type by date, overdates and other varieties bring little premium, though that may change in the future. Occasionally counterfeits made of platinum turn up of this type. These were likely made in the mid-nineteenth century, when the price of platinum was below the price of gold and making such a fake could be profitable. 

''Reported Mintage:'' unknown but common.

''Specification:'' 27.07 g, .875 fine gold, .761 troy oz AGW.

''Catalog reference:'' KM 159, Cal. 47.

''[[Bibliography|Source:]]''
* Cayón, Adolfo, Clemente Cayón and Juan Cayón, ''Las Monedas Españolas, del Tremis al Euro: del 411 a Nuestros Dias,'' 2 volumes, Madrid: Cayón-Jano  S.L., 2005.
* Calicó, Xavier, ''Numismática Española: Catálogo General con Precios de Todas las Monedas Españolas Acuñadas desde Los Reyes Católicos Hasta Juan Carlos I, 1474 a 2001,'' Barcelona: Aureo & Calicó, 2008.
* Friedberg, Arthur L. and Ira S. Friedberg, ''Gold Coins of the World, From Ancient Times to the Present, 9th ed.,'' Clifton, NJ: Coin and Currency Institute, 2017. 
* Michael, Thomas, ''Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1701-1800, 7th ed.,'' Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2016. 
* <sup>[1]</sup>Sisó, Teresa, Eduardo Domingo and Lluís Lalana, ''Subasta Pública 261,'' Barcelona: Aureo y Calicó Subastas, 2014. 

''Link to:''
* [[Mexico 1796-Mo FM 8 escudos|1796 8 escudos]]
* [[Mexico 1797-Mo FM real|1797 real]]
* [[Mexico 1797-Mo 1/4 real|1797 ¼ real]]
* [[Mexico 1797-Mo FM 1/2 real|1797 ½ real]]
* [[Mexico 1797-Mo FM 2 reales|1797 2 reales]]
* [[Mexico 1797-Mo FM 4 reales|1797 4 reales]]
* [[Mexico 1797-Mo FM 8 reales|1797 8 reales]]
* [[Mexico 1797-Mo FM escudo|1797 escudo]]
* [[Mexico 1798-Mo FM 8 escudos|1798 8 escudos]]
* [[Coins and currency dated 1797]]
* return to coins of [[Mexican colonial coinage, 1536-1822]]

[[Category:Gold coins of Mexico]][[Category: Selections from Aureo sale 261]]