2 Reales - Felipe IV

These are cob coinage — macuquinas — struck by hammer between crude dies on irregular planchets, the product of a mint system optimized for speed and bullion throughput rather than precision. Mexico City was the dominant silver mint in the Spanish empire during this period, feeding an Atlantic trade network that stretched from Seville to Manila.

Felipe IV's reign saw the 1642 debasement scandal at the Mexico City mint, in which assayers were found to be systematically underweighting and debasing cob silver — a fraud that implicated officials at the highest level and resulted in executions. Coins struck in those years are now catalogued separately by specialists, as the actual fineness often fell well below the stated .931.