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8 Reales - Charles II
| Issuer | Casa de la Moneda de Potosí |
|---|---|
| Year | 1667-1701 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | 35.8 mm |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Latin |
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| Reverse description | Central device depicting the Pillars of Hercules, representing the Strait of Gibraltar, with each pillar surmounted by a crown and entwined by a scroll bearing the motto PLVS VLTRA, the imperial device of Charles V. The denomination '8' appears prominently to the left of the pillars, with the date '1680' and assayer initials flanking the lower field. Three wavy lines below the pillars represent the sea. The circumferential legend POTOSI·ANO·1680·BL·PERV is visible around the beaded border, partially truncated by the irregular cob flan. |
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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.