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1/4 Real - Philip III
| Issuer | Casa de la Moneda de Potosí |
|---|---|
| Year | 1598-1605 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | Log in to see details |
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| Shape | Cob |
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| Obverse description | Central crowned royal shield of Castile and León, displaying quarterly arrangement of castles and lions, all contained within a beaded inner circle. The irregularly shaped flan, characteristic of cob coinage, results in partial visibility of the surrounding Latin legend. The die-struck design reflects the crude but functional aesthetic of early colonial hammered silver production at Potosí. |
|---|---|
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| Mintage | ND (1598-1605) P |
| Additional information |
Philip III ascended the Spanish throne in 1598, and the Potosí mint — then the most productive silver operation in the world, sitting atop the Cerro Rico vein — updated its coinage accordingly. The quarter real was the smallest silver denomination in the Spanish colonial system, struck crudely by hand on irregular planchets cut from rolled silver bars. These macuquina-style pieces were never intended for precision; they moved silver, not artistry.
Potosí's assayers during this period were later implicated in systematic fraud — shaving silver from planchets before striking and pocketing the difference. The scandal came to a head in 1649, decades after this issue, but the irregular weights endemic to the type hint at practices already well underway.