2 Reales Popayan

Popayán's copper emergency issues of 1813 emerged from the collapse of royalist supply lines during the early independence struggle in New Granada. The mint at Popayán — one of the oldest and most productive silver mints in Spanish South America — had no shortage of skilled personnel but faced acute metal shortages as the wars disrupted normal bullion flows from the surrounding mining regions. Copper was the expedient solution. These pieces circulated in a city that changed hands repeatedly between patriot and royalist forces over the following decade.