2 Reales - Fernando VII Proclamation coinage

Fernando VII never actually ruled New Spain — he was imprisoned by Napoleon at Bayonne in May 1808 before his accession could be consolidated, yet the Mexico City Mint struck proclamation coinage in his name that same year as a formal declaration of colonial loyalty to the captive king. These pieces were produced for the public ceremony of the proclamación, a ritual acclamation of a new monarch, and were typically scattered among the crowd or distributed to officials rather than entering general commerce.

The timing matters: news of Bayonne reached Mexico City in July 1808, triggering a constitutional crisis over whether sovereignty reverted to the people or the viceroy. Proclamation coinage was already being prepared amid that unresolved argument.