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1/2 Real - Carlos III
| Issuer | Casa de Moneda de México |
|---|---|
| Year | 1772-1789 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Real (1535-1897) |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Crowned royal arms of Spain at center, featuring the quartered shield with castles of Castile and lions of León, with a pomegranate in base and three fleurs-de-lis on the central escutcheon of the Bourbon dynasty. The shield is flanked by the Pillars of Hercules, each surmounted by a crown, representing the straits of Gibraltar and the Spanish claim to the New World. The mint mark 'Mo' and assayer initials appear in the legend, with the denomination indicator 'R' also present. The entire design is enclosed within a toothed border, with the circular legend divided across the field. |
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| Edge | Reeded |
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| Additional information |
The 1772 date marks a watershed in Mexican colonial coinage: that year, Carlos III mandated the switch from the cob ("macuquina") format to the new milled coinage, ending nearly two centuries of hand-struck production at the Mexico City mint. The transition was not merely aesthetic — it was an imperial accounting measure, driven by chronic fraud in the old cob system, where clippers and dishonest assayers had been skimming silver for generations.
The FM assayer mark appearing on pieces from this period belongs to Francisco de la Peña Flores, active at the Mexico City mint through the 1780s.