If you find a Spanish Charles II Real, keep it safe. It is highly sought by most European collectors and many other enthusiasts.

During the throne years of Charles II of Spain, 1675-1700, the bewitched King as he was called, led the Spanish Crown into bankruptcy in America. The extraction and management of silver was faulty and corrupted by local authorities assigned by the Crown to serve in Hispanic American colonies at the time. 

The lack of financial controls in Spain and the overspending in property acquisitions turned the Spanish arks in negative numbers. Having a King with many ailments and absence of perception opened the doors for monetary under-dealings in continental Europe and within Hispanic colonies. 

The most circulated coin within the late 1600's to late 1700's in Spain and its colonies was the "real de a ocho" or pieces of eight from a "real" and an image is shown here. The coin shown, was minted in Mexico under the name of King Charles II. Its circulation marked the early decline of the Spanish Empire around 1690 onwards. The arrival of low quantities of silver from the South American mines, the lack of loyal overseers for the Crown and, the poorly managed conquered territories, along with the constant attacks from Spain adversaries overseas like England, France and the Netherlands, contributed to the downfall of the monetary flow from Spain into Latin America thus bringing the bankruptcy status thru the entire eighteenth century. 

The nice coin image was taken from one of my Western Civilization books,  tittled "Occidente" (1981) Vicens-Vives, S.A., Barcelona, Spain, Fernández, A., et.als.

If you come by to a coin like the one shown you might have a rather valuable piece at hand. Thanks for reading my blog.

In my own words.

For further details about this item and others please visit my collections section.

AC Coin$

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