Catalog
2 Reales
| Issuer | Republic of Ecuador |
|---|---|
| Year | 1837-1838 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Orientation | Coin alignment ↑↓ |
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| Obverse description | Central device depicts a fasces surmounted by a liberty cap on a pole, flanked by two cornucopiae overflowing with produce, all set within a laurel wreath tied at the base. The date 1837 appears in the lower exergue. The peripheral legend EL PODER EN LA CONSTITUCION encircles the design, separated from the inner device by a dotted border. |
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| Obverse lettering | EL PODER EN LA CONSTITUCION 1837 |
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| Additional information |
Ecuador's early republican coinage was struck at the Quito mint, which operated under persistent technical constraints — thin silver supplies, inconsistent alloy control, and hand-operated screw presses inherited from the colonial administration. The .666 fineness here was a deliberate step down from Spanish colonial standards, reflecting the new republic's inability to guarantee purer metal on a consistent basis.
The 1837–1838 window was politically turbulent; Ecuador had only fully separated from Gran Colombia in 1830, and the monetary infrastructure was still improvised. KM#21 survivors in any decent state of preservation are scarcer than catalog listings suggest.