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4 Reales - Felipe II
| Issuer | Casa de Moneda de Lima |
|---|---|
| Year | 1570-1577 |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Crowned royal arms of Castile and León displayed as a quartered shield, showing alternating castles and lions in the quarters, with the Granada pomegranate at the base. The mintmark 'P' (for Lima) and the assayer's initial appear flanking the lower portion of the shield. A partial circular legend surrounds the device within a beaded border, characteristic of cob-style hammered coinage of the period. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | A quadrated design featuring a plain cross dividing the field into four sections, each containing alternating castles and lions within a four-lobed polylobe border. The arrangement follows the standard type for Spanish colonial macuquina (cob) coinage of Felipe II. A beaded outer border frames the composition, with partial legends visible around the periphery. The flan is irregular in shape, as is typical of hammered cob coinage struck at Lima during this period. |
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| Additional information |
Felipe II's Lima mint was established by royal decree in 1565, making it the first permanent mint in South America. These early cob-style pieces — macuquinas — were struck by hammer on irregular planchets cut from silver bars hauled down from Potosí, and quality control was, by any honest measure, catastrophic. A 1572 royal inspection found systematic fraud: assayers were shaving weight from planchets and pocketing the difference, a scandal that led to criminal proceedings against mint officials.
The assayer's initial on pieces from this window is the primary tool for attribution within the series.