Item number: A2655

Year: AD 1808

Material: Silver (.896)

Size: 39.1 x 39.5 x 2.0 mm

Weight: 26.25 g

Manufactured by: Mexican Mint (Casa de Moneda de México), Mexico City

Provenance: Da Chen Stamps and Coins Collection 2014

This is an 8 Reales silver coin struck in AD 1808 by the Casa de Moneda de México (Mint of Mexico), issued in the name of King Ferdinand VII of Spain. At certain periods, 8 Reales were approximately equivalent to one Peso.

The obverse features a right-facing half-length portrait of Ferdinand VII, depicted wearing armour, crowned with a laurel wreath, and with flowing ribbons. Around the portrait appears the Latin abbreviation “FERDIN · VII · DEI · GRATIA”, meaning “Ferdinand VII, by the Grace of God”. Below the portrait, “1808” indicates the year of minting. To the right of the bust, a trace of a countermark appears, though it is too worn to be legible.

The reverse presents a simplified version of the Spanish coat of arms. The central shield is quartered by a cross. The first and fourth quarters (upper left and lower right) display three-towered castles, representing the Kingdom of Castile. The second and third quarters (upper right and lower left) show a crowned, rampant lion, symbolising the Kingdom of León. At the centre of the shield is an oval escutcheon bearing three fleurs-de-lis, representing the House of Bourbon. Beneath the shield, a triangular or pomegranate-shaped element symbolises the Kingdom of Granada. Above the shield rests the Spanish royal crown. Flanking the shield are the Pillars of Hercules, an allusion to the natural setting of the Strait of Gibraltar. Ribbons are entwined around the pillars, though the inscriptions are worn; they likely once bore the Latin motto “PLUS ULTRA”, meaning “Further Beyond”, which served as the personal motto of Charles I and later became the national motto of Spain. Around the edge appears the inscription “· HISPAN · ET · IND · REX · Mͦ · 8R · T · H ·”. “HISPAN · ET · IND · REX” stands for “Hispanic et Indies Rex”, meaning “King of Spain and the Indies”. “Mͦ” denotes the Mint of Mexico. “8R” signifies the denomination “8 Reales”. “T” represents Tomas Butron Miranda, and “H” stands for Henrique Buenaventura Azorin, both of whom were assay masters at the time.

Ferdinand VII (AD 1784–1833) was the sixth king of Spain from the House of Bourbon. In AD 1808, he forced his father Charles IV to abdicate during a palace coup and assumed the throne. However, that same year, Napoleon Bonaparte invaded Spain, lured Ferdinand to France, and compelled him at Bayonne to abdicate, transferring the Spanish crown to Napoleon’s brother Joseph Bonaparte. This event sparked the Peninsular War, during which the Spanish populace, rallying under the slogan “For Ferdinand”, launched widespread resistance against French occupation. During this period, overseas mints began striking coins independently and sending them to Spain for military funding. Due to the chaotic circumstances, no official busts of Ferdinand were sent from Spain, resulting in various conjectural portraits being created at the colonial mints.

From AD 1808, Ferdinand VII remained a prisoner in France until his restoration in AD 1814 following Napoleon’s defeat. His absence created a crisis of legitimacy in New Spain. Although colonial authorities nominally swore allegiance to Ferdinand VII, internal tensions between Spanish-born elites and American-born Criollos escalated sharply. Some Spanish-born elites advocated for establishing local governing juntas to safeguard the king’s authority, while Criollos increasingly questioned the colonial regime and nurtured ideas of independence. In August AD 1808, an unsuccessful revolutionary attempt known as the Revolución de la Acordada broke out in Mexico City, further destabilising the region. Although Viceroy José de Iturrigaray attempted to maintain order, he was eventually overthrown by conservative forces. In AD 1810, the full-scale Mexican War of Independence erupted, marking the beginning of the collapse of Spanish colonial rule in the Americas. Upon his return to Spain, Ferdinand VII abolished the Constitution of Cádiz promulgated in AD 1812 by liberal forces, reinstated absolute monarchy, and reignited political turmoil with lasting consequences.

物件編號: A2655

年代: 公元 1808 年

材質: 銀 (896‰)

尺寸: 39.1 x 39.5 x 2.0 mm

重量: 26.25 g

製造地: 墨西哥鑄幣廠，墨西哥城

來源: 大城郵幣社 2014

這是一枚公元1808年，由墨西哥鑄幣廠(Casa de Moneda de México)鑄造，以西班牙國王斐迪南七世之名義發行的8里爾銀幣。在一些時期，8里爾約等於1披索。

銀幣的正面為斐迪南七世的右側半身像，身著鎧甲，頭戴桂冠，繫帶飄揚。還列拉丁簡寫「FERDIN · VII · DEI · GRATIA ·」，即「Ferdinand VII Dei Gratia」，意為「斐迪南七世，蒙上帝恩典」。下方「1808」標示了鑄行年。人像右方似曾有戳，惜磨損無法辨識。

銀幣的背面為簡易的西班牙國徽，中央方盾以十字分為四個部分。左上與右下的部分為三座尖頂的塔樓，代表卡斯提爾王國。右上與左下的部分則是戴冠人立的雄獅，代表里昂王國。中央橢圓小盾徽上的三朵鳶尾花，則是代表了波旁王室。盾徽底部的三角或倒鳶型區域則是石榴花葉，代表格拉納達王國。盾上方為西班牙王冠。盾徽兩側為「海格力斯之柱」(Pillars of Hercules)，為直布羅陀海峽自然環境的隱喻，柱上纏繞絲帶，字跡漫漶，但其上應書有拉丁格言「PLUS ULTRA」，或可譯為「大海之外，還有世界」，為卡洛斯一世座右銘，亦為西班牙國家格言。環列「· HISPAN · ET · IND · REX · Mͦ · 8R · T · H ·」，「HISPAN · ET · IND · REX 」即為「Hispanic et Indies Rex」，意即「西班牙與西印度之王」，「Mͦ」為墨西哥鑄幣廠之鑄幣標記，「8R」為面額「8里爾」，「T」為托馬斯·布特隆·米蘭達(Tomas Butron Miranda)之縮寫，「H」為恩里克·布埃納文圖拉·阿索林(Henrique Buenaventura Azorin)之縮寫，兩者皆為時任試金員。

斐迪南七世(生卒公元1784至1833年)為西班牙波旁王朝第六任國王。公元1808年，他在宮廷政變中迫使父親卡洛斯四世退位，自立為王。然而，同年拿破崙·波拿巴入侵西班牙，誘使斐迪南赴法，並在巴約訥逼迫他退位，將西班牙王位交給拿破崙的兄兄約瑟夫·波拿巴。此舉引發西班牙半島戰爭，民眾以「為斐迪南而戰」為口號展開抗法抵抗。各海外鑄幣廠亦自行鑄幣，送返回國以補軍用，由於時局動盪，西班牙本土並未製送斐迪南肖像幣模，各海外鑄幣廠之斐迪南七世像多為臆造。

斐迪南七世自公元1808年起被扣押於法國，直到公元1814年拿破崙戰敗後返回西班牙復位，期間引發新西班牙地方上的合法性危機。殖民當局名義上宣誓效忠斐迪南七世，但實際上，地方菁英與民眾間的矛盾迅速激化。部分西班牙裔菁英主張由本地組織自治政府以維護君主合法權威，另一方面，美洲出生的克里奧爾人(Criollos)則開始質疑殖民體制，醞釀獨立思想。公元1808年8月，墨西哥城爆發阿拉曼達革命未遂(Revolución de la Acordada)，地方動盪加劇，總督何塞·德·伊图里加雷仍試圖維持秩序，但終於被保守派推翻。公元1810年，更加激烈的墨西哥獨立戰爭爆發，標誌著新西班牙殖民體系開始瓦解。回國後，他廢除公元1812年地方菁英所立加的斯憲法，恢復絕對君主制，再次引發動盪，餘緒深遠。