A great number of sunken galleons turned into treasures; adopted and detailed by the sea. Ships loaded with coins that still live in the depths and others that managed to be rescued, allowing us today to have a part of history in our hands. Coins that are unique thanks to their battle scars, marked by important events and with details that only the sea could cultivate. 

The Spanish real was a silver coin used between the 14th and 19th centuries. During this period, due to the power of the Empire, the monetary system of the peninsula was based on this coin. These reales were first minted in Spain by the Crown of Castile, until voyages to the new continent took them to other parts of the world. 

As time went by, new coins representing other values were minted. The most sought after coin was the real de a 8, although there were also coins of two and four reales, the half real and the quarter real. 

At the beginning of the seventeenth century, as the basis of the monetary system peninsular of the time, everything was exchanged with these coins. The real de a 8 began to gain popularity, making it the legal tender in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Brazil and even China, until the end of the 19th century.

In the colonial period they were the first coins minted in Mexico; silver coins with a weight of 3.35 grams made by hand with a hammer blow. And in spite of their rudimentary manufacture, they have a uniform thickness, are round and of good appearance.

Thanks to the growth of the Spanish Empire and its importance for so long, these treasures traveled from one place to another, exposing themselves to the risks involved in sailing. This is how today many Spanish galleons loaded with silver and gold remain as wrecks.

Some of these unique treasures that inherit a history; hidden by the oceans, they have been recovered and are part of our history.