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1 Real - Philip IV
| Issuer | Casa de Moneda de Potosí |
|---|---|
| Year | 1656 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
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| Composition | Silver (.917) |
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| Diameter | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Latin |
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| Reverse description | Stylized Pillars of Hercules (crowned columns) flanking a central shield, with wavy lines below representing the ocean. The motto PLVS VLTRA appears on a scroll or band between the columns. Above the design, the mint initial P, face value numeral I (for 1 Real), and assayer initial E (for Antonio de Ergueta) are partially visible. The last two digits of the date 56 and the Potosí mint mark P appear in the lower portion of the design, consistent with standard Potosí macuquina coinage of the period. |
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| Additional information |
The year 1656 places this cob squarely in the aftermath of one of the most consequential scandals in colonial minting history. Beginning in the early 1640s, assayers at Potosí — most notoriously Juan Ramón de Rozas — had been systematically debasing silver coinage, reducing fineness well below the mandated .917 standard and pocketing the difference. The fraud was uncovered around 1649, triggering mass executions and the recall of suspect coinage across the Spanish empire. By 1656, the mint was under tightened crown oversight, and coins of this date are generally accepted as struck to proper fineness.