Mint Year: 1741 Mint Mark: Mo (Mexico) Reference: 1740-MoMF, KM-104Denomination: 8 Reales (Pillar Dollar) Assayers: Manuel de la Pena and Francisco de la Pena Weight: 26.75gm Diameter: 38mm Material: Silver Obverse: Crowned Spanish coat-of-arms, assayer initials and value on either side. Latin Legend: * PHILIP . V . D . G . HISPAN . ET IND . REX * / .MF* / 8 Expanded: PHILIP V DEI GRATIA HISPANIARUM ET INDIARUM REX Translation: “Philip V by the Grace of God, King of the Spains and the Indies” Reverse: Crowned hemispheres, set on Gibraltar, between crowned and banner-entwined pillars of Hercules. All set on ocean. Latin Legend: VTRAQUE VNUM * Mo * I74I * Mo * Translation: “On both sides / Unity”
Pillar coins were a great improvement over cobs in that they were of a uniform size and weight without cracks or uneven edges. They had a deep full strike with all information clearly visible and were difficult to clip or counterfeit. Denominations for this new coinage included the one half, one, two, four and eight reales coins.