CARLOS III EIGHT
     ESCUDOS COIN  
Treasure of San Juan de Alicante 

Gold
diam.: 3.72 cm; wt.: 27.01 g; mint mark at the 12 o’clock position.
Modern Age.
1779

 

Gold eight escudos coin made during the reign of Carlos III in the mint of Mexico. Type Calicó 15, no. 91.
The obverse side has the legend CAROL III∙ D∙ G∙ HISP∙ ET IND∙ R∙ 1779 and the bust of the monarch facing right.
The reverse side has the legend IND∙ UTROQ∙ FELIX∙ AUSPICE∙ DEO and the royal shield and a golden fleece. It has the mark of the mint of Mexico (M with the letter O on top), the sign of its value 8 S (eight escudos) and the mark of the assayer (F.F.).

This coin is part of the treasure of San Juan de Alicante which is made up of 501 coins (15 escudos and 486 reales) minted between 1708 and 1823. The treasure was hidden around 1823 which could relate to the time of the absolutist repression that the liberals of Alicante suffered when the Trienio Liberal period had finished.
Coin Inventory Nº: 3769.
OLCINA DOMÉNECH, M., 1997.
RAMÓN SÁNCHEZ, J. J., 1994.