NNP

Abstract: The silver and gold coinage issued by the Spanish Empire in Latin America is among the most significant series of coins ever created. Part of their importance comes from the fact that they were the first coins struck in the Western Hemisphere, they enriched much of Western Europe, and they were widely accepted and acted as the first standard units of global monetary exchange. They did not, however, enrich Latin America itself, and the colonies faced perpetual shortages of money - most notably small change. While, initially, the Spanish tried to introduce a copper coinage in the early sixteenth century, the experiment failed dramatically and the coinage was discontinued. However, as the population of European settlers increased in the decades and centuries that followed, the imperial mindset began to include control over local markets with many individuals in New Spain highlighting the importance of a provincial copper currency. Authorities also wanted to avoid damage created by clacos - privately issued tokens by small-scale shops, known as tiendas mestizas. After a brief background on the early history of fractional currency in New Spain, this paper highlights the efforts of don Agustín de Coronas y Peredes to convince King Charles III to introduce a copper coinage in that region. The events initiated by Coronas exposed the detriments of the privately-produced pieces, introduced three sets of coin designs recommended by Coronas, and led to relatively-obscure pattern coins struck in 1768 and 1769 in Mexico City.