Spanish colonial real

Spanish colonial coinage

Silver coin: 8 reales Fernando VI, Viceroyalty of New Spain \- 1757 MM Silver coin: 8 reales Carlos III, Viceroyalty of New Spain \- 1778 FF chopmark Silver coin: 8 reales Carlos IV, Viceroyalty of New Spain \- 1808 chopmark Silver coin: 8 reales Fernando VII, Viceroyalty of Rio de la Plata \- 1823 PTSPJ Silver coin: 8 reales Carlos IV, Viceroyalty of Peru \- 1800[1]

The silver real (Spanish: real de plata) was the currency of the Spanish colonies in America and the Philippines. In the seventeenth century the silver real was established at two billon reales (reales de vellón) or sixty-eight maravedíes. Gold escudos (worth 16 reales) were also issued. The coins circulated throughout Spain's colonies and beyond, with the eight-real piece, known in English as the Spanish dollar, becoming an international standard and spawning, among other currencies, the United States dollar. A reform in 1737 set the silver real at two and half billon reales (reales de vellón) or eighty-five maravedís. This coin, called the real de plata fuerte, became the new standard, issued as coins until the early 19th century. The gold escudo was worth 16 reales de plata fuerte.

## History

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Coins were produced at mints in Bogotá, Caracas, Guatemala City, Lima, Mexico City, Popayán, Potosí, Santo Domingo and Santiago. For details, see the:

* Colombian reales
* Mexican reales
* Peruvian reales
* Santo Domingo reales
* Venezuelan reales

After the independence of Spain's colonies, the real was replaced by currencies also denominated in reales and escudos, including the Argentine real, Central American Republic real, Ecuadorian real, Honduran real, Paraguayan real and Santo Domingo real.

## Coins

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From 1572 to 1773 Spanish colonial silver coins were cobs. Initially cut from a silver bar and hammer struck on a coin die, they were accurate in weight, though sometimes debased in precious metal content. However unlike machined coins, they were often irregular in shape, especially if a too-thick coin was clipped by the mint to reach the proper weight. After 1732 similar, but better shaped cobs were produced on screw presses. Cob denominations were 1⁄2, 1, 2, 4, and 8 reales. When circulating in New England the larger coins might be cut to give intermediate values; since a real was nicknamed a "bit", the expression "two bits" came to mean a quarter dollar.[2]

Unlike in Spain, the copper coins were generally not struck by the colonial mints. Most issued silver coins in denominations of 1⁄4, 1⁄2, 1, 2, 4 and 8 reales and gold coins for 1⁄2, 1, 2, 4 and 8 escudos. Exceptions were the Santo Domingo mint, which did strike maravedíes in the sixteenth century and the Caracas mint which issued fraction of real copper coins in the early nineteenth century to facilitate commerce.

## Columnarios

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A Spanish colonial silver coin, minted in Potosí in 1768, featuring the columns and the hemispheres

Columnarios are silver coins that were minted by Spain from 1732 to 1773 throughout its New World colonies. While the majority of columnarios were struck in Mexico, smaller mints existed in Guatemala; Lima, Peru; Santiago, Chile; Potosí, Bolivia; and Colombia. The base denomination is an 8 reales coin (aka Piece of eight or Spanish dollar). Other minor denominations included 4 reales, 2 reales, 1 real, and 1/2 real. The 8 reales coin is the predecessor to the American dollar. Before the United States Mint was in production, columnarios circulated, along with other coinage, in the US colonies, as legal tender until the middle of the 19th century.

Prior to the columnario, Spanish coins were hammer struck. These rather crude looking coins were called cobs. Clipping was a problem with cobs as it was easy to shave small amounts of silver from their edges, and although this action was punishable by death, it was still a widespread occurrence. The columnario, unlike the odd-shaped cob, is a round coin with milled edges which makes clipping detectable and less likely to occur.

The design of the columnario consists on the reverse of two worlds — representing the new world and old world — with a royal crown above. Below are the waves of the sea that separate the worlds and on the left and right are columns (hence the name "columnarios") representing the Pillars of Hercules adorned with crowns and wrapped with a banner spelling "PLUS ULTRA", meaning "more beyond". The reverse also has the letters "VTRAQUE VNUM", referring to the Old and New Worlds, "Both are One", and the date at the bottom, with mint marks on both sides.

The obverse features the crown's name followed by "D G HISPAN ET IND REX", meaning, "By the Grace of God, King of Spain and the Indies." The assayer's mark is on the left and the denomination on the right of a large Spanish shield which is adorned with a royal crown atop. Various florets, rosettes, stops, and other features are used to separate features.

The edge has a repeating laurel leaf design which is very difficult to counterfeit and is often used for authentication purposes.

## See also

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* Money portal
* Numismatics portal

* Currency of Spanish America
* Peso
* Spanish dollar
* Spanish escudo
* Spanish real
* Viceroyalty

## References

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1. ^ 8 reales Carlos IV Peru 1800 - Year: 1791-1808; Weight: 27,06 gram; Composition: 98,6% silver; Mintage: 4,207,000 coin - https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces35033.html
2. ^ Spanish Colonial Cobs: Introduction

* Krause, Chester L.; Clifford Mishler (1991). Standard Catalog of World Coins: 1801–1991 (18th ed.). Krause Publications. ISBN 0873411501.

## External links

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Columnarios.

* Columnarios.com, a website devoted to the columnario (archived 24 December 2018)
* The Colonial Coinage of Spanish America Archived 2019-05-17 at the Wayback Machine: an introduction by Daniel Frank Sedwick

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Spanish Empire

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* Catholic Monarchs
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|

Americas (Spanish America)|

| North America|

* New Spain (Coastal Alaska, Central United States (Spanish Louisiana), Western United States (Spanish Texas), Florida, Mexico, Central America (Captaincy General of Yucatan), Spanish Caribbean)

|

Central America|

* Captaincy General of Guatemala
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South America|

* New Granada (Colombia, Ecuador, Panama, Venezuela, part of Guyana, a northernmost portion of Brazilian Amazon)
* Peru (Peru, Acre, Chile)
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Asia and Oceania (Spanish East Indies)|

* Philippines
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* Northern Taiwan
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Africa|

* Equatorial Guinea
* Northern Africa (Western Sahara, Spanish Morocco, Tripoli, Tunis, Peñón of Algiers, Oran, Béjaïa, Ifni and Cape Juby)

Antarctica|

* Terra Australis

Administration

| Organization|

* Ayuntamiento
* Cabildo
* Council of the Indies
* Germania
* Santa Hermandad

|

Law|

* Exequatur
* Laws of the Indies
* Papal bull
* Royal Decree of Graces
* School of Salamanca
* Trial of residence

Titles and positions|

* Alcalde
* Corregidor
* Municipal president
* Regidor
* Syndic
* Vecino

Administrative subdivisions

| Viceroyalties|

* Columbian
* New Spain
* New Granada
* Perú
* Río de la Plata

|

Captaincies General|

* Chile
* Cuba
* Guatemala
* Philippines
* Provincias Internas
* Puerto Rico
* Santo Domingo
* Venezuela
* Yucatán

Governorates|

* Castilla de Oro
* Cuba
* La Florida
* Louisiana
* New Andalusia (1501–1513)
* New Andalusia
* New Castile
* New Navarre
* New Spain
* Tierra Firme
* New Toledo
* New León
* Paraguay
* Río de la Plata
* Terra Australis

Audiencias|

* Bogotá
* Buenos Aires
* Caracas
* Charcas
* Concepción
* Cusco
* Guadalajara
* Guatemala
* Lima
* Manila
* Mexico
* Panamá
* Quito
* Santiago
* Santo Domingo

Economy

| Currencies|

* Dollar (Peso)
* Real
* Maravedí
* Escudo
* Columnario
* Doubloon

|

Trade|

* Manila galleon
* Spanish treasure fleet
* Casa de Contratación
* Spanish Road
* Guipuzcoan Company of Caracas
* Barcelona Trading Company
* Consulate of the Sea
* Camino Real de Tierra Adentro
* Commerce Consulate of Buenos Aires

Military

| Armies|

* Tercio
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* Free Company of Volunteers of Catalonia
* Indian auxiliaries
* Spanish Armada
* Ships of the line
* Royalists
* Legión
* Army of Africa

|

Strategists|

* Duke of Alba
* Antonio de Leyva
* Martín de Goiti
* Alfonso d'Avalos
* García de Toledo Osorio
* Duke of Savoy
* Álvaro de Bazán the Elder
* John of Austria
* Charles Bonaventure de Longueval
* Pedro de Zubiaur
* Ambrosio Spinola
* Blas de Lezo
* Bernardo de Gálvez

Mariners|

* Christopher Columbus
* Pinzón brothers
* Ferdinand Magellan
* Juan Sebastián Elcano
* Juan de la Cosa
* Juan Ponce de León
* Miguel López de Legazpi
* Pedro Menéndez de Avilés
* Sebastián de Ocampo
* Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca
* Alonso de Ojeda
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* Alonso de Salazar
* Andrés de Urdaneta
* Antonio de Ulloa
* Ruy López de Villalobos
* Diego Columbus
* Alonso de Ercilla
* Nicolás de Ovando
* Juan de Ayala
* Sebastián Vizcaíno
* Juan Fernández
* Luis Fajardo
* Felipe González de Ahedo
* Francisco de Camargo
* Alonso de Camargo

Conquistadors|

* Hernán Cortés
* Francisco Pizarro
* Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada
* Hernán Pérez de Quesada
* Francisco Vázquez de Coronado
* Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar
* Pedro de Valdivia
* Gaspar de Portolà
* Pere Fages i Beleta
* Joan Orpí
* Pedro de Alvarado
* Martín de Ursúa
* Diego de Almagro
* Pánfilo de Narváez
* Diego de Mazariegos
* Jerónimo Luis de Cabrera
* Pere d'Alberní i Teixidor
* García López de Cárdenas

Notable battles|

| Old World|

| Won|

* Comuneros
* Bicocca
* Rome (1527)
* Landriano
* Pavia
* Tunis
* Mühlberg
* St. Quentin
* Gravelines
* Malta
* Lepanto
* Antwerp
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* Mons
* Gembloux
* Ostend
* English Armada
* Cape Celidonia
* White Mountain
* Breda
* Nördlingen
* Valenciennes
* Ceuta
* Bitonto
* Bailén
* Vitoria
* Tetouan
* Alhucemas

|

Lost|

* Capo d'Orso
* Vienna (1529)
* Preveza
* Siege of Castelnuovo
* Algiers
* Ceresole
* Balearic Islands (1558)
* Djerba
* Tunis
* Spanish Armada
* Leiden
* Rocroi
* Downs
* Montes Claros
* Passaro
* Manila Bay
* Trafalgar
* Somosierra
* Annual
* Mactan

New World|

| Won|

* Tenochtitlan
* Cajamarca
* Cusco
* Bogotá savanna
* Penco
* Mataquito
* Guadalupe Island
* Recife
* San Juan (1595)
* Bahia
* Colonia del Sacramento
* Comuneros (Paraguay)
* Cartagena de Indias
* Cuerno Verde
* Túpac Amaru II
* Túpac Katari
* Pensacola
* Newfoundland
* San Juan (1797)

|

Lost|

* La Noche Triste
* Iguape
* Tucapel
* Guiana
* Curalaba
* Comuneros (New Granada)
* Trinidad (1797)
* Chacabuco
* Boyacá
* Carabobo
* Pichincha
* Ayacucho
* Guam
* Santiago de Cuba
* Asomante

Spanish conquests

* Canary Islands
* The Americas
* Aztec
* Maya
* Chiapas
* Yucatán
* Guatemala
* Petén
* El Salvador
* Honduras
* Nicaragua
* Chibchan Nations
* Colombia
* Chile
* Inca
* Philippines

Other civil topics

* Spanish missions in the Americas
* Architecture
* Mesoamerican Codices
* Cusco painting tradition
* Indochristian painting in New Spain
* Quito painting tradition
* Africanist
* Tapada limeña
* Academia Antártica
* Colonial universities in Hispanic America
* Colonial universities in the Philippines
* General Archive of the Indies
* Colonial Spanish Horse
* Mustang
* Castas
* Criollos in the colonial society
* Old inquisition
* Slavery in Spanish Empire
* Asiento
* Law of coartación (which allowed slaves to buy their freedom, and that of others)
* Great Potosí Mint Fraud of 1649

Cartography

| Cartographers|

* Juan de la Cruz Cano y Olmedilla
* Agustín Ibáñez y Bojons

|

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