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8 Reales - Charles II
| Issuer | Casa de la Moneda de Potosí |
|---|---|
| Year | 1667-1701 |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Obverse description | Central quartered shield displaying alternating castles of Castile and lions of León, divided by a plain cross, the whole surmounted by a royal crown and flanked on the left by the Potosí mint mark 'P' and assayer initial. The shield is enclosed within a beaded inner circle. The circumferential Latin legend reads CAROLUS II DEI GRATIA HISPANIARUM, partially visible due to the irregular cob flan. The coin displays the characteristic irregular planchet and uneven strike typical of macuquina coinage of this period. |
|---|---|
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| Obverse lettering | CAROLUS·II·D·G·HISPANIAR P V 80 |
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| Additional information |
Potosí's cob coinage from this period — the macuquinas struck by Charles II — was the subject of one of colonial Spain's most damaging mint scandals. Beginning in the 1640s and uncovered definitively in 1649, assayers and mint officials had been systematically debasing silver intended for royal coinage, skimming fine metal for decades. The fallout reached Madrid and resulted in executions, but the corrupt practices were never fully eradicated, and questions about silver fineness at Potosí persisted well into Charles II's reign.
Charles II himself was the last Habsburg king of Spain, ruling under regency until 1675. His coinage continued to fund an empire already in steep decline.