unclemac
Gold Member
- Oct 12, 2011
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- Primary Interest:
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Great Potosí Mint Fraud of 1649
Potosí was founded in 1545 as a mining town near Cerro Rico, a mountain that contained enormous quantities of silver ore. The minted coins were to have a silver content of 93 parts per 100, as decreed by King Philip IV of Spain in December 1642. The mint produced prodigious amounts of reliable coinage accepted and respected worldwideRumors of the fineness of the silver coins from Potosí began to circulate in the early 17th century. Royal trials confirmed the coins from Potosí contained only 75% of the silver they were supposed to contain. In response to this, King Philip sent Francisco de Nestares Marín, a former inquisitor, to investigate the situation. Marín's investigation revealed that the fraud permeated the entire silver operation. Key figures in the fraud were Francisco Gómez de la Rocha, and Juan Ramírez de Arellano, an assayer at the mint. Both of them were executed for their crimes, and other assayers at the mint were fined or removed from their positions. Several silver merchants were also executed. King Philip ordered that 8 reales coins were to be devalued. The new 8-reales would be worth 7.5 reales. As part of the decision, the new coins had to be countermarked to indicate their worth.
The Lima mint had closed in 1588. For a brief period in 1659 and 1660 the mint reopened, but without Royal permission. The new viceroy, Alva de Liste, found there was a very serious and chronic problem due to the shortage of circulating currency. Potosi's annual 8 million in silver pesos went almost completely to Spain, and that mint was already overworked. There was not enough currency for local merchants to do business or pay taxes. Alva decided he needed to re-open the Lima mint first and ask permission later. The new design had a distinctive “star” placed on it to clearly distinguish it from the Potosi mintages. Once King Philip IV found about it, he ordered its immediate closure. The mint remained closed until 1683 with coinage resuming in 1684.
Ultimately Coins from Bolivia, (Peru at the time) adopted the distinctive "Pillar and Waves" design that identifies these coins as being unique among the other Spanish colonial mints, like Mexico City etc.
