Bourbon 8 Maravedis

The Bourbon 8 Maravedis, a copper coin from Spain's Bourbon era, was often struck using recycled metal from older coins, reflecting the era's frugal minting practices. This recycling wasn't just thrifty; it sometimes led to irregular shapes and weights, frustrating merchants and collectors alike.

Design-wise, these coins bore the profile of the reigning king, from Philip V onward, encircled by simple legends in Latin. Mints in Madrid and other cities produced them, but exact outputs vary by year—some records were lost in 19th-century archives.

I've turned over enough of these in three decades to know they're sturdy survivors, not the mythical treasures some claim. As for that portrait, it aged with each ruler, much like my own patience.

Counterfeits were common, given the coin's low value, which might explain why so many turn up in digs. We don't know the full extent of their circulation beyond Spain's colonies, but that's the nature of history—full of gaps.