4 Reales - Carlos II

Carlos II, the last Habsburg king of Spain, ruled in near-constant regency due to severe physical and cognitive disabilities that left him unable to govern effectively for much of his reign. The Lima mint during this period was producing cob coinage — macuquinas — hand-cut from silver bar and crudely struck, making each piece irregular by nature. These were not coins in the modern sense but rather certified silver by weight, their primary function being to satisfy the insatiable demand for American silver flowing into Manila, Seville, and beyond.

Carlos died in 1700 without an heir, triggering the War of the Spanish Succession and the eventual transfer of the Spanish throne to the Bourbon dynasty — ending the very administrative lineage that authorized this mint's operation.