From the Grading Room: NGC Certifies Extremely High-grade Mexico 8 Reales

Numismatic Guaranty Company® (NGC®) recently certified an extremely well-struck and well-preserved example of a Mexico 8 Reales, a beloved 19th century silver coin comparable to the Morgan Dollar series for its beautiful design and strong interest among collectors.

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The Mexico 1864O FR 8 Reales is graded NGC MS 68+, the sole-finest among more than 19,000 Mexico 8 Reales from 1823 to 1897 in the NGC Census. In fact, the next highest grade for these coins is NGC MS 67, shared by a scant 11 examples across various dates and mints.

Today's technology has allowed minting facilities around the world to routinely strike coins that earn the highest grades on the grading scale. For instance, NGC has graded 5,190 business strike Mexico 2023Mo Silver Onzas as of April 2024, and 4,275 of them (or more than 80%) earned NGC's highest grade of NGC MS 70.

Minting technology was not as refined more than a century ago. NGC has graded more than 3.9 million Morgan Dollars, with only 69 of them earning grades of NGC MS 68+ or higher, about 0.002% of the total. By itself, the 8 Reales graded NGC MS 68+ represents 0.005% of its series' total population in the NGC Census.

As a workhorse in international commerce, Mexico's 8 Reales with their iconic "Cap and Rays" design tended to see heavy circulation. This coin's 'O' mintmark represents Oaxaca, a city in the nation's south. The 8 Reales were struck at more than a dozen mints, but Oaxaca must have had some extraordinary skill and equipment, as four of the 11 examples graded NGC MS 67 were struck there, including two dated 1864, one 1868 and one 1869.

Related Link:
From the Grading Room: The Greatest Cap & Rays 8 Reales