Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
4 Reales - Philip IV
| Issuer | Casa de la Moneda de Potosí |
|---|---|
| Year | 1652-1666 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | 2.2 mm |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | The Pillars of Hercules design dominates the field, depicting two crowned columns flanking a central panel divided horizontally, with the mint mark 'P' and assayer's initial to the left of the pillars and the denomination numeral '4' above between the column capitals. The upper central panel bears the legend 'SVIL' (an abbreviation of 'PLUS VLTRA'), while the lower panel displays the last two digits of the date (here appearing as '53', indicating 1653). Wavy lines representing the sea appear at the base of the columns, and partial crown devices surmount each pillar. The flan is characteristically irregular in outline, with portions of the surrounding Latin legend partially visible around the jagged edge. |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | P 4 E 53 |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
The Potosí mint's cob coinage — macuquinas — from this precise window sits at the center of one of the most consequential numismatic scandals in colonial history. In 1649, assayer Francisco de la Casa was found to have been systematically debasing silver intended for royal coinage at Potosí, shaving fineness well below the mandated standard. The fraud had run for years. Crown investigations led to executions, the destruction of existing dies, and a complete administrative reorganization of the mint by 1652 — which marks the hard opening of this type's date range.
Coins struck in the years immediately following that purge carry assayer marks reflecting the new regime of oversight. The KM#R18 designation covers the rare assayer variants within the series.