The Spanish milled dollar from New Granada: colonial 8 reales of Bogotá and Popayán — pillar type 1759–1772, bust type from 1772.
History
- Colonial silver 1/4 through 8 reales (and gold 1–8 escudos) were struck at Bogotá and Popayán, the last in 1820.
- The pillar type at Santa Fe de Bogotá ran 1759–1772 (milled pillar coinage; Bogotá adopted it in 1759); the bust/portrait type replaced it from 1772 under Charles III’s empire-wide ordinance.
- The Popayán mint operated 1749–1822; its colonial 8 reales carry the P/PN mintmark versus Bogotá’s NR (Nuevo Reino).
- The coin the English colonies called the Spanish milled dollar (foreign silver was legal tender in the U.S. until 1857).
- Independence-era successors: Cundinamarca struck silver 1/2–8 reales 1820–1823; the United Provinces of New Granada struck 1/2–8 reales 1819–1822.
Key dates & varieties
- Bogotá pillar 8 reales (1759–1772) are scarcer than Mexico City pillars of the same era.
Specifications
- Weight: about 27.07 g silver; diameter about 38–39 mm.
Collector notes
- Check the mintmark — NR for Bogotá, P/PN for Popayán — and distinguish Bogotá pillars from Lima pieces by the mintmark, not the design.