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2 Reales - Charles III
| Issuer | Casa de Moneda de Potosí |
|---|---|
| Year | 1759-1773 |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Quartered shield of the Spanish royal arms, divided by a bold cross potent into four quarters displaying alternating castles (Castile) and lions (León), with the numerals and mint/assayer marks partially visible in the surrounding field. The denomination numeral '2' appears prominently above the cross in the upper field. The entire design is struck on an irregular, roughly planchet typical of macuquina (cob) coinage, resulting in an uneven flan with portions of the surrounding legend only partially legible. The surfaces display the characteristic rough texture and variable relief inherent to the hammered cob production method employed at the Potosí Mint. |
|---|---|
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| Obverse lettering | CAROLVS TERTIVS |
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| Additional information |
Charles III inherited the Spanish throne in 1759 and almost immediately pushed through the Pragmatic of 1771, which mandated the transition from cob-style macuquina coinage to milled portrait coinage across all American mints. Potosí, sitting at over 4,000 meters in the Bolivian altiplano, was among the last mints to complete the switch — the dies, equipment, and trained personnel required for milled coinage were not easily transported to one of the most remote industrial operations in the colonial world.
KM#43 spans the cusp of that transition. Pieces struck in the early 1770s may show inconsistencies in planchet preparation as the mint adjusted to new standards before the macuquina type was formally retired.