Spanish Colonial Minors

A site dedicated to the minor denominations, quarter real through four reales, of the milled coinage of the Spanish New World mints.

Curled Base 9s
A Study of the Numeral 9 Die Punches used on Spanish Colonial Portrait Half Reales, 1772-1821

One of the most fascinating aspects of half real pieces of the Spanish Colonies, and of all Spanish colonial coins in general, is the numerals in the date. There are overdates, repunched numerals, and doubled die errors, all of which lend themselves to numerous varieties for the series. But even when the date is punched correctly into the working die, there are some interesting differences in the styles of numbers used, some quite distinctive, creating new minor varieties that are of interest to the thorough collector.

This article will break down the use of an unusual number punch in the portrait half real series that is distinct from what could be termed as the “normal” or “standard”. At certain mints, a curled based 9 was used, and replaced the “standard” 9 that had been used previously.

The first year that a 9 appeared in the range of this study is 1779, and the curled base 9 did not appear on any of the coins minted at the five active mints of that year: Mexico City, Lima, Potosi, Santiago, or Guatemala. The punch used was the standard punch with a short, straight tail on the 9. The next year the 9 was used was, of course, 1789, the year Charles III died and his son, Charles IV succeeded him. Due to this change in monarchs, there are many varieties, but none of them used a curled base 9. All the major varieties that year center on differences in the ordinal in the King’s name.


1790 Mexico City: Curled Base and Regular 9

For whatever reason, it was in 1790 that the use of the curled base 9 began at two of the colonial mints. At Mexico City, two major varieties exist: the CARLOUS IV and the CAROLUS IIII varieties. And within the Ch. IIII variety, the old 9 punch was used as well as the new curled base 9. Also in 1790, at Nueva Guatemala, two major varieties exist: one with the old bust of Charles III and a new bust of Charles IV. The standard 9 appears on the Charles III variety(though the legend states CAROLUS IV), but the coin with the local bust of Charles IV(legend CAROLUS IIII), used the curled base 9. Could the new 9 punch have something to do with the succession of the new King, as it appears only on CAROLUS IIII coins of the year?

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