1/2 Real - Philip III

Philip III inherited the Potosí mint at its most chaotic. The cerro rico was producing silver at a scale that distorted European monetary systems, yet quality control on small-denomination cobs was essentially nonexistent — assayers were routinely bribed, and the fineness scandals that erupted formally in 1649 under Philip IV had roots reaching back into exactly this period. Half-real cobs were the denomination most likely to be clipped and re-spent without detection, making surviving examples of correct weight genuinely useful as period documents.