Catalog
1 Real Phillip IV
| Issuer | Casa de la Moneda de Potosí |
|---|---|
| Year | 1622 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Real (1574-1825) |
| 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) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Latin |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | A bold Jerusalem Cross (cross potent) divides the field into four quadrants, each containing alternating castles and lions in the Spanish colonial heraldic tradition. The cross is struck in high relief relative to the surrounding field, characteristic of the macuquina cob technique. The quadrants display the castles of Castile and the rampant lions of León in a quartered arrangement. Much of the peripheral area is irregular and uneven due to the flan's cob character, with design elements frequently running to the edge. The mint mark P (for Potosí) and assayer initial are typically found adjacent to the cross arms. |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
The 1622 date places this coin at one of the most catastrophic moments in Potosí's minting history. That year, a royal investigation exposed decades of systematic fraud at the mint — assayers and officials had been debasing silver coinage well below the legal fineness, pocketing the difference. The scandal implicated the highest levels of the mint's administration, and several officials were ultimately executed. Coins struck in the years immediately surrounding the investigation are considered suspect for fineness, though enforcement of the .931 standard improved sharply afterward.
The 8 Real cob of 1622 achieved enduring notoriety through the Atocha shipwreck. Smaller denominations from the same year share that provenance when recovered.