WORTHINGTON FINE ART GALLERIES

Historic 1785 Silver Spanish Colonial Coin of Charles III “Portrait” and “Modified Pillar” Strike | The coin’s front rim is inscribed with “CAROLUS III DEI GRATIA 1785.” | The verso of the coin depicts the Pillars of Hercules with the crowned shield of Leon & Castile, and is inscribed around the rim with “HISPAN. ET. IND. REX” | The verso is also inscribed with characters that represent the type of Real as “R” for 1/2 Real, the assayers initials “M.I.” and the mint mark ”   indicating the coin was minted in Lima, Peru |  1/2 REAL CAROLUS III (18 mm diameter) | Measures 18mm in diameter.

These coins are known as Spanish (Hispan) colonial coinage because they circulated freely in the many New World colonies of Spain. You can find essentially the same coins in Bolivia, Chile, Columbia, Guatemala, Mexico, Peru. The coins from Mexico carry the distinctive Mo or oM mint mark — a small ‘o’ set over a large ‘M’. Coins from Chile bear an So or oS mint mark for Santiago, Chile. There are many other mint marks, as explained below.  Silver Spanish Colonial Coins  are wonderful collectibles.

King Charles (Carolus) of Spain shows on the front of the coin. Carolus III reigned from 1759 to 1788, and Carolus IIII (or IV) reigned from 1788 to 1808. The backs of these coins look the same, with a crowned shield and two large pillars on either side.