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2 Reales
| Issuer | Valdivia, City of |
|---|---|
| Year | 1822 |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The reverse bears a plain field with a bold, centrally arranged three-line inscription denoting the denomination, mint city abbreviation, and date. The denomination and issuer designation '2.R. / V·A' appear in the upper two lines, with the date '1822' occupying the lower portion of the field. The lettering is large and crudely rendered in keeping with the emergency issue nature of this provincial coinage, and is framed by the same radiating milled border as the obverse. |
| Reverse script | Latin |
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| Additional information |
Valdivia's 1822 siege coinage was struck under genuinely desperate circumstances — the city had been cut off by patriot forces during Chile's war of independence, and the royalist garrison needed coin to function. The billon alloy reflects not a monetary policy but a scarcity of silver; whatever metal was available went into the dies.
KM#2 is among the rarer of the Valdivia obsidional issues. The city capitulated to Lord Cochrane's forces in January 1820, which creates an attribution problem: some scholars dispute the precise dating of these emergency pieces, and 1822 may reflect restrike or administrative lag rather than the actual year of manufacture.