Mexican 8 Real Coin made of White Jade

Al Kowsky · July 11, 2022

During the 18th & 19th centuries foreign trade with China was a lucrative business. American & European entrepreneurs were scrambling to get goods from China like: tea, porcelain, silks, & decorative items of all sorts. However there was a big problem doing business with the Chinese, they weren't interested in any goods manufactured in the West 😏! The only thing they would accept in trade for their goods was silver coins, specifically 8 real coins made in Mexico & other Latin American countries 😬. These were the only coins they trusted for honest weight & purity of silver. They reluctantly accepted other silver dollar size coins that were seriously discounted 😖, & these coins were chop marked by merchants after every transaction to prove they weren't plated fakes or low alloy silver. While browsing through my files I stumbled on a very rare Chinese carved white jade Mexican 8 real coin auctioned by Sotheby's for $44,594.00 😮! Why anyone would carve one of these coins from precious white jade has me puzzled 🤔. I'm guessing it was probably made for a very wealthy Chinese merchant after completing a big transaction. The coin also had a finely carved teakwood stand to display it 😊.