Catalog
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| Issuer | Casa de la Moneda de Potosí |
|---|---|
| Year | 1603-1621 |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| 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 |
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| Technique | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | PHILIPPVS III DG |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
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| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Plain |
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| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
Potosí's cob coinage — macuquinas — existed purely to move silver out of the Andes as fast as the mints could produce it. Assayers at Potosí during this period were notoriously corrupt; the scandal of 1649 eventually exposed decades of debased coinage, though the worst fraud post-dated this Philip III issue. Half-real denominations saw the least scrutiny precisely because their small size made systematic debasement harder to detect at that weight.