Catalog
8 Reales - Charles IV
| Issuer | Casa de Moneda de Potosí |
|---|---|
| Year | 1791-1808 |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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|---|---|
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| Reverse lettering | · HISPAN · ET IND · REX · PTS · 8R · P · P · PLUS - ULTRA. (Translation: King of Spain and the Indies) |
| Edge | Milled |
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| Additional information |
The Potosí mint, operating at over 4,000 meters in the Bolivian altiplano, drew on the Cerro Rico silver deposits that had been feeding Spanish imperial finances since 1545. By Charles IV's reign the mountain had been mined so aggressively for two and a half centuries that ore grades were declining sharply, forcing the Casa de Moneda to refine larger volumes of lower-quality material to maintain output quotas set by Madrid.
The 1791–1808 window closes at the Napoleonic invasion of Spain, which severed colonial loyalty and triggered the independence movements that would eventually shut Potosí's Spanish-crown operations entirely. Pieces dated 1808 are noticeably scarcer than earlier issues in the series.