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Extremely Rare Oval Countermark of George III
on a Santiago Mint Eight Reales
George III (1760-1820), oval countermark upon, Chile silver Eight Reales, Santiago Mint, struck under
Charles IV of Spain, 1793 DA. Countermark of cuirassed bust of George III placed centrally on neck of
cuirassed bust of Spanish King right, date below, legend .CAROLUS. IIII. DEI. GRATIA. Rev. crowned
quartered Spanish shield of arms, pillars with ribbon motto either side, incuse letter PLVS VLTRA, Latin
legend surrounding.HISPAN. ET. IND. REX. S. 8R. D.A. toothed border around rim both sides, weight
26.95g (Bull 1853 R3; ESC 134; S 3765A; KM 627). Light hairline scratch in obverse field, with one ex-
tending onto neck, rim cut at 4 o’clock, otherwise lightly toned with underlying mint brilliance, in PCGS
holder graded AU 55, Pop 1; the finest example graded at PCGS,
and
extremely rare for this mint this nice.
$5,500
PCGS certification 34313094. The Latin legends translate on the host coin as “Charles the Fourth by the Grace of God” and
on the reverse as “King of Spain and the Indies” with the Santiago mint mark with an S under an o and the denomination as 8R
for Eight Reales and the D.A. for the Mint Masters Domingo Eizaguirre and Augustin de Infante y Prado whose master-ship
reigned from 1772-99. The “Plus Ultra” motto meaning “further beyond”.
These historically interesting countermarked pieces were struck in reaction to a massive shortage of small change and silver
coinage in Great Britain as continued campaigns on the continent had drained the precious metal out of the hands of the pub-
lic. The temporary and hurried solution was provided by the Bank of England, with their vast stocks of Spanish Dollars from
the New World, which could be quickly countermarked with the silver hallmark from the Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths
to officiate them at a value of Four Shillings and Ninepence. The vast majority of the stock host coins countermarked were
Mexico City Mint Dollars, other more common Mints being Potosi in Bolivia and Lima in Peru. The very rare mints of the
New World host coins to be so marked were Santiago in Chile as we have here and Guatemala, just as rare as the fewer Spanish
mainland pieces of Seville or Madrid. The superb condition of this countermarked piece would be good for an unmarked host
coin only of this issue never mind having the addition of the British countermark.