8 Escudos Carlos IV 1790 Gold Coin: Value & How to Sell

If you inherited an 8 Escudos gold coin dated 1790 with the bust of Carlos IV, you have a genuine gold piece, not a novelty. This is one of the largest gold denominations struck in colonial Mexico, and even a well-worn example is worth several thousand US dollars because of its gold content alone. High-grade certified examples go much higher.

What this coin actually is

The 8 Escudos was the top gold coin of the Spanish colonial system, minted in Mexico City (then the viceroyalty of New Spain) under King Carlos IV of the Bourbon dynasty. Collectors and dealers often call the 8 Escudos a "doubloon." The 1790 issue carries the assayer mark FM.

The hard specs, which matter for both value and authentication:

• Metal: gold, .875 fine (21 karat)
• Weight: 27.01 grams
• Diameter: 37 mm
• Edge: diagonally reeded
• Mint: Casa de Moneda de México (Mexico City), assayer FM
• Year: 1790, first year of the Carlos IV type

That gold weight is the key number. At 27.01 grams of .875 gold, the coin holds roughly 0.76 troy ounces of pure gold. Whatever the numismatic premium, the melt value sets a hard floor under the price. It cannot be worth less than its gold.

How much is it worth in USD

There are two ways to value this coin, and both matter.

Floor (gold content): with about 0.76 troy ounces of pure gold, the melt value tracks the international gold spot price. At recent gold levels that alone is several thousand US dollars. Check the current spot price and multiply by 0.76 to see the metal floor on any given day in 2026.

Numismatic value: above the melt floor, condition and eye appeal drive everything. A circulated, worn example trades close to melt plus a modest premium. A sharp, uncirculated coin, especially one certified by NGC or PCGS in Mint State, commands a strong premium over melt.

The reason we give ranges instead of one exact figure: gold coins move with the daily spot price, and grade swings the premium dramatically. The 1790 date is the first year of the Carlos IV portrait type, which adds interest for type collectors, but this is fundamentally a gold-driven coin.

Is it rare?

Carlos IV 8 Escudos coins from Mexico City exist across multiple years (1789 through 1808), so this is not a unique piece. The 1790 first-year date and the FM assayer combination are collectible, but survival numbers depend heavily on condition. Worn examples are available. Genuinely high-grade, original-surface coins are the scarce part, and that scarcity is where the money is.

Do not assume "1790" alone makes it a fortune. Age is not rarity. What lifts one of these coins above gold value is grade, original surfaces, and certification, not the date on its own.

How to tell if yours is genuine

Gold coins of this value attract counterfeits, and the specs are your first defense.

1. Weigh it. A real 1790 8 Escudos weighs 27.01 grams. Use a scale accurate to 0.01 grams. Fakes, often lower-purity gold or gold-plated base metal from overseas, almost always miss the weight.
2. Measure it. 37 mm diameter. Off dimensions are a red flag.
3. Check the edge. It should show diagonal reeding. A smooth or wrong edge points to a cast copy.
4. Get it certified. For a coin at this value, do not rely on eyeballing. Submit it to NGC or PCGS for grading and authentication. Certification is the definitive insurance and it also raises what buyers will pay.

If your coin is off on weight or diameter, stop there. No amount of nice detail makes up for wrong specs on a gold coin.

Where to sell it

Because this is a precious-metal coin worth thousands, sell it where the buyer can prove the price and you can prove the coin:

• Certified auction houses and established dealers. For a genuine, high-grade 8 Escudos, a specialist auction reaches the collectors who pay the most. Heritage Auctions and Stack's Bowers both handle Mexican colonial gold regularly.
• Verified numismatic shops. A reputable dealer will weigh and appraise it on the spot. Browse the Pesoteca shop directory to find one.
• Collector marketplaces. The Pesoteca buy/sell forum connects you with collectors of Mexican gold. Always show clear photos of the obverse, reverse, and edge, plus the weight.

Avoid dumping it on a general online marketplace at the first offer. Get it graded first if it looks uncirculated; the certification fee is small next to the premium a Mint State example earns.

This piece belongs to the Colonial Escudos gold series from the Colonial / Viceroyalty era. You can also browse other 8 Escudos coins and more coins dated 1790.

Got one in a drawer and not sure what grade it is? Post clear photos of both sides and the edge in the Pesoteca forum and let collectors who handle these help you pin down the value.

Eight escudos Carlos IV, 1790, Mexico City Mint, assayer FM, Krause KM#157. The first full year of the viceroyalty of the second Count of Revillagigedo, one of the most enlightened viceroys of New Spain. That year the Piedra del Sol (Sun Stone) and the Coatlicue were discovered in Mexico City's main square during the leveling works ordered by the viceroy himself, finds that were reported by Antonio de León y Gama in his Descripción histórica y cronológica de las dos piedras. The ounce weighs 27.06 grams with the 0.875 fineness typical of the Carlos IV bust. Produced by mill press with a standardized round planchet. The FM signature of the assayers continues in the field. In Europe the French Revolution advanced with the Civil Constitution of the Clergy. Krause KM#157 is the reference for the first Carlos IV bust type with FM signature in Mexico, current until the die change of 1791.