Countermarked Silver Cobb 8 Reales

Spain was having serious trouble in the early 19th century. Napoleon’s armies had invaded their country. Napoleon was in control of most of the Spanish peninsula by 1809. In addition, the Spanish were suffering defeat after defeat. Spain's heavy losses were attributed to incompetent generals. New Spain, now called Mexico, saw their window of opportunity...

The French invasion of Spain sparked uprisings across Spanish America. It was the start of the Mexican liberation from Spain. Mexican war for independence was hard fought. It was not a single event, but many regional struggles that occurred in a revolutionary civil war that lasted 11 years.

Finally, in August of 1821, the Treaty of Córdoba was signed. A new day was dawning for Mexico. New Spain’s dependence on Old Spain had finally occurred. Mexican Liberation from Spain had finally happened!

We are absolutely thrilled to share a very rare Countermarked Silver Cobb 8 Reales coin with you today. In fact, up to this point in time very few people knew coins like this even existed. This coin isn't even known to many historians or the rare coin industry alike. It is quite literally the oldest known official United States Silver Dollar. In particular, it is the only one in private hands with the countermark of PS. 

It’s an absolute wonderful find and a priceless piece of American History. Surprisingly, not many people knew how business was done before the US Mint opened. From the 1600's up to 1792 Spanish colonial silver Reales and gold Escudos were the primary currency used in the colonies. Of course, this changed once the US started minting their own coins.

US regulators confiscate countermark Spanish coins