2 Reales - Ferdinand VI

The Potosí mint — operating since 1572 at over 13,000 feet in what is now Bolivia — was the single largest silver producer in the colonial world, its output so vast that the phrase "worth a Potosí" entered the Spanish language as a synonym for unimaginable wealth. Ferdinand VI's reign saw continued pressure on the mint to transition from hand-struck cob coinage toward the milled coinage already being produced at Mexico City. This 2 Reales sits in that transitional window, when Potosí's assayers were still signing individual dies.

The assayer initial on the reverse is the primary dating tool within this short reign series.