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8 Reales - Philip IV
| Issuer | Casa de la Moneda de Potosí |
|---|---|
| Year | 1649 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 8 Reales |
| 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 | Log in to see details |
| 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 | A bold Jerusalem cross with ornate trefoil terminals divides the field into four quadrants, each bearing alternating castles and lions, the traditional arms of Castile and León, set within a lobed quatrefoil border. The date 1649 is partially visible in the surrounding legend. A beaded border frames the design, and the Latin legend around the periphery reads INDIARVM REX ANNO, referencing Philip IV's title as King of the Indies. |
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| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | 1649 PZ - KM#19b - 1649 PZ - KM#R19b - |
| Additional information |
The Potosí mint in 1649 was operating under the shadow of one of colonial Spanish America's most damaging fraud scandals. From roughly 1634 onward, mint officials — including the assayer Francisco Gómez de la Rocha — had been systematically debasing the silver content of cob coinage well below the mandated fineness. The fraud was exposed in 1649, triggering mass arrests, executions, and a complete reorganization of the mint. Coins struck in that transitional year carry an uncertain pedigree: some predate the purge, some follow it.
The KM#R19b designation flags this as a restrike, a distinction worth scrutinizing carefully against the assayer mark.