1769 M, Mo 2 Reales
Spanish Colonial Coinage
Krause Mishler #: 87
Gilboy #: M-1-45c
Mintage: Unlisted
Diameter:
26 mm
Weight: 6.68 g
Composition: 91.7% silver, 1.995 oz.
ASW
Obverse: * CAR * III * D * G * HISP * ET * IND * R
* (Carlos III By The Grace of God, King of Spain and the Indies)
Crowned Coat of Arms of Spain;three fleur-de-lis of the Bourbon Dynasty
(center), flanked by denomination.
Reverse: VTRA QUE VNUM (Both Shall Be One)
Crowned globes, flanked by Pillars of Hercules (scrolls read Plus Ultra -
Further Beyond)
Milled coinage first appeared from New Spain in 1732, with the introduction of the screw press to the South American colonies. Prior issues (known as cobs) were produced by method of hammered dies, resulting in crude, irregular shaped 'coins' which were quite unpopular in commercial trade. Production continued until 1771, when it was redesigned in favor of a bust style that carried the King's image.
The name 'pillar coinage' or 'columnario' is applied to this design due to the Pillars of Hercules on the (technical) reverse, which flank the crowned globes. The scrolls which circle the pillars read 'Plus Ultra', which translates to 'Further Beyond', as reference to the original legend regarding the Pillars of Hercules which read 'Ni Plus Ultra', meaning 'Nothing Further Beyond'. The two globes are a reference to the old and new world, both placed under the crown of Spain and circled with the coin's legend 'Utra Que Unum', or 'Both Shall Be One'.
Unlike it's predecessor, the columnario was highly popular in commercial trade, and circulated on a global scale. The South American colonies produced silver coinage in such quantity that Adam Smith makes note, in his famous work An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nation, that its impact on the supply caused an adverse effect on demand which devalued silver in Europe.
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