Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
1/2 Real - Felipe III
| Issuer | Casa de Moneda de México |
|---|---|
| Year | 1609-1620 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | KM#21 |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse script | Latin |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | 1609 A - - 1610 F - - 1614 F - - 1620 D - - |
| Additional information |
Felipe III's reign saw the Mexico City mint operating under a series of corrupt assayers whose fraudulent practices triggered a major royal investigation in 1618. The inquiry found systematic short-weighting and alloy manipulation across multiple denominations — small silver like this half real being particularly easy to debase without detection by ordinary commerce. Several assayers were prosecuted, and the mint's administrative structure was forcibly reorganized before the king's death in 1621.
Cob-style production means no two pieces from this period share an identical shape. The assayer's initial struck during these years is the primary attribution marker for placing a piece within or outside the scandal's window.