Denomination: 8 Reales                                                                         

Date:  Circa 1589-1598       

Assayer: Not Visible                                                                            

Reign: Philip II

Mount: Sterling Silver with 18k Gold Prongs & Bale                                   

Mint: Seville

Description: Obverse: Crowned shield of the King.  Mint mark "S" visible. Script: "PHILIPPVS II DEI GRATIA". Translation "Philip II, by the grace of God". Reverse: Cross in astrolabe. Lions and Castles in four quadrants. Script: “HISPANIARVM REX”. Translation: “King of Spain and all the Indies”

History: Philip II was the 1^st Hapsburg King. He married Henry VIII’s daughter Mary I. During his marriage to Mary I, he was also King of England and Ireland. He was lord of the Seventeen Provinces from 1556 until 1581, holding various title for the individual territories such as Duke or Count.

This coin is a certified member of our “Private Collection Series” by Shipwreck Treasures of the Keys. It has been numismatically certified as authentic to its time period and demonstrates possible evidence of environmental wear and possible corrosion consistent with marine wear related to a shipwreck. Coins of “Private Collection Series” do not have official salvager documentation proving their origin from a legal underwater shipwreck recovery. These coins may have been discovered on a beach near a wreck site, legally recovered by a salvager but now with lost documentation. No coin suspected of illegal removal from a wreck site will be included in this series. Each coin is certified as an authentic artifact, some that may have survived a survived a shipwreck, while others are excellent land find examples. Our “Private Collection Series” also allows for the creation of a database to further our understanding of shipwrecks and their contents, both locally and globally, providing an additional benefit for collectors and researchers alike.

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