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71/2 Reales - Philip IV
| Issuer | Spanish Monarchy |
|---|---|
| Year | 1649-1652 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Orientation | Variable alignment ↺ |
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| Obverse description | The obverse displays the Royal Arms of Castile and León within a quartered shield, featuring the castles of Castile and the lions of León in alternating quarters, characteristic of the macuquina (cob) coinage struck at Potosí under Philip IV. The shield is surmounted by a large crown and flanked by the assayer's mark and the mint mark 'P' for Potosí. A bold cross with flared terminals dominates the central design, dividing the shield's quarters, surrounded by an ornate beaded inner circle. Portions of the Latin legend referencing the king's name and titles are partially visible around the periphery of the irregularly shaped flan. The entire design is rendered in the characteristic rough, hand-struck style typical of mid-17th century colonial cob coinage. |
|---|---|
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| Obverse lettering | PHILIPPVS·IIII·D.G.HISPANIARVM PO 8 |
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| Additional information |
The 7½ reales denomination is one of the stranger products of mid-17th century Spanish colonial monetary policy. Introduced to address a chronic shortage of fractional silver after years of debased vellon coinage had eroded public confidence in the Castilian monetary system, it filled a gap between the 4 and 8 reales without ever achieving broad commercial acceptance. The denomination was short-lived precisely because it solved a problem that merchants had already worked around.
The KM#C19.22 attribution places this among the macuquina (cob) coinage of the colonial mints operating under Philip IV, struck by hand from irregular planchets — a process that made each piece dimensionally unique regardless of nominal weight specification.