8 Reales
Physical Object
1987.006.0066
Nuestra Señora de Atocha (1622)
A silver coin from the 1622 galleon Atocha is 4 centimeters in diameter and weighs 26.1 grams. The obverse bears a large Hapsburg shield topped with a crown. To the right of the shield is the Roman numeral VIII, which denotes the coin’s denomination of eight reales - popularly, a “piece of eight.” To the left is a “P” over a “B.” The P is the mark of the mint at Potosí, the famed Andean silver mining city. The B is the mark of the assayer, the person who supervised the striking of the coin and certified its value. In this case the B is the mark of either Hernando Ballesteros or Juan de Ballesteros Narváez. On the reverse is a Greek cross, and each quarter it forms holds either a castle (representing Castile) or a lion (representing León). The cross is surrounded by a flower-like tressure and encircled with beading made of small x’s.