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2 Reales - Carlos III
| Issuer | Casa de Moneda de México (Mexican Mint) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1772-1784 |
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| Currency | Real (1535-1897) |
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| Obverse description | Laureate and draped bust of King Carlos III facing right, rendered in the portrait style introduced for the milled coinage series. The king's hair is shown with curled locks tied with a ribbon at the nape, and his shoulders are covered with an ornate cuirass and lace jabot. The circular legend CAROLUS·III·DEI·GRATIA is arranged around the periphery, read from the lower left, with the date — here 1773 — positioned in the lower exergual area between two pellets. A fine milled border frames the entire design. |
|---|---|
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| Obverse lettering | CAROLUS·III·DEI·GRATIA ·1773· (Translation: Carlos 3rd by the grace of God) |
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| Additional information |
The 1772 date marks a watershed in Mexican minting history: that year, the Mexico City mint abandoned the cob ("macuquina") coinage that had been struck since the sixteenth century and transitioned entirely to milled, portrait coinage by royal decree. Carlos III ordered the change partly to combat counterfeiting and clipping, which had plagued the irregular cobs for generations. The new bust coinage required machinery upgrades and trained engravers brought from Spain.
KM#88 spans the full run of Carlos III's portrait type at Mexico City before his death in 1788 ended the series. Assayer marks on these pieces shift across the emission — FM and FF are the initials most commonly encountered within this date range.