Charles III, son of Philip V, ruled over Spain from 1759 to 1788. His reign represented the peak of Spanish enlightened absolutism. His reforms addressed the distribution of communal land, the division of large estates, curtailing the privileges of the Mesta, the powerful association of sheep ranchers, the protection of private industry, suppressing limitations on trade and excises and so on. Spain’s possessions in America did not escape the reformist programme. The American colonies gained access to modernity thanks to the reformist and enlightened thought and the economic growth.

In size value and beauty the supreme piece of Spanish numismatics was the 8-escudo coin. It was called onza ounce due to its weight, the twelfth part of a pound (327 grams) and its legal weight was of 27.064 grams with an approximate diameter of 36-37 mm.

The massive production and influx of silver from America to Spain helped the crown to understand the importance of minting coins in the colonies so that they would not have to rely on their manufactory back in the mother country. In April 1561 Diego López de Zúñiga, Count of Nieva at the time, Viceroy of Spain in Peru, sent a letter to King Philip II requesting authorisation for the establishment of a mint indicating the reasons for his petition. On 21 August 1565 Phillip II of Spain granted approval for the foundation of the Mint of Lima by royal decree issued in Segovia.

The coinage of the first American onzas started in 1659 at the mint in Lima. Nearly one century later, in 1751 and thanks to the installation of a mill and three screw presses, the first cordoncillo gold coins, named after the grooved , began to be minted with values of 8, 4, 2 and 1 escudo.

With Charles III now on the throne, the Law of 29 May 1772 established the types to be manufactured from that moment onwards. For escudos it specifically decreed: “my Royal bust armoured dressed and with the royal cape surrounded by the legend Carol III D G Hisp et Ind R and with the year of coinage below”.

The initials JM correspond to the assayers José Rodríguez Carasa (J) and Manuel Iglesias Abarca (M) in charge of marking the coins coming out from the mint in Lima between 1755 and 1774.

Obverse: Armoured bust with wig of King Charles III facing right. Striated . Around the bust the legend and date:

CAROL III DG HIP ET IND R 1772

Reverse: Flanked by 8 and S on either side, a crowned shield of Charles III, made up of the following arms—starting from the top left and moving to the right: Aragon, Two Sicilies, Austria, Burgundy (modern), Duchy of Tuscany, Brabant, Tyrol, Flanders, Burgundy (old) and Duchy of Parma. Alternated at the centre, Castile and Leon with Granada at the bottom. Three fleurs-de-lis of Anjou occupy the very centre. The royal crown on top and around the shield the chain of the , of which the King of Spain is the head. Striated . Everything surrounded by the legend and the marks of the mint and the assayers:

·IN·UTROQ·FELIX·-AUSPICE·DEO·LMAE·-JM

Translation: “Happy in one and the other world under the eyes of God”