My talk focuses on the birth of the Argentine republic through it coinage at Potosi in 1813 and 1815. The minting of the first Argentine coinage at Potosi was directly related to the capture of the royalist mint at Potosi by Argentine forces in 1810, 1813, and 1815. The old Royalist mint at Potosi was the premier mint in the New World for the Viceroyalty of Peru. After the patriotic outbreak on May 1810, ideals of independence spread throughout the Viceroyalty. The Argentine rebel Junta decides to send expeditions to the Upper Peru, mainly a royalist area, where patriotic rebellions had been boldly repressed in Chuquisaca and La Paz. After many twists of battles, The Argentine army is able to take the Villa Imperial of Potosi in 1810, 1813, and 1815. Only in the last two years do they take any measure in reference to the currency. After the victory of Salta on February 20, 1813, the Auxiliary Army of Peru led by General Belgrano occupies Potosi, which was previously evacuated by Goyeneche on March 1. Once the news spread to Buenos Aires, the General Assembly is given a draft from Congressman Pedro J. Agrelo for further consideration, who proposes to mint a new type of currency, "having the same fineness, weight and value of the preceding currency, although altering only the seal, and which would substitute the execrable figures of the despots for the verneral emblem of Liberty". It was fully stated that its worthiness had to be the same in spite of the accidental variation of the seal. The congressman also sent drawings of the new pieces. Based on this project, on April 23, the Assembly sanctioned the corresponding law, thus ordering the Superintendent of the mint at Potosi to open new dies in the following way: silver coins "will have, on the one hand, the General Assembly seal, without the usual design of the Sun and a surrounding inscription saying "Provincias del Rio de la Plata" on the reverse, there will be a Sun occupying the whole center and around it the following words: En Union y Libertad: The should also have the assayer’s initials, the place of the issue, and it face value, as well as any other required signs already carried by the former coins". On the other hand, gold coins should be similar to those of silver, except for one difference, under the hands which hold the pike, there should be military engraved trophies, consisting of two flags, one each side, two crossed canons and a drum.

On April 27th, the order was passed to Potosi. Together with the original drawings and the scripts aesthetically altered, having transferred those from the obverse to the reverse and vice versa, as well as suppressing the word "Unidas" which sounded redundant.

The result of the previous Argentine occupation in that city, which caused Governor Francisco de Paula Sanz and other citizens execution, meant that many mint officials had to flee away with Goyence’s army. The superintendent, the two assayers Pedro Martin de Albizu and Juan Palomo y Sierra, the treasurer Manuel, Carrion, the loyal minister Carlos Gonzalez del la Madrid and chief engraver Nicloas Moncayo left the Villa before the coming of the Argentinians. So the original staff of the mint which counted with 32 people, lost 12 highly trained officials thus creating serious technical problems to the patriots. In order to handle this situation, many unskilled subordinate officers were raised to higher posts, although they could not fulfill their duties properly. Thus, second officer, Pedro Benavidez was promoted to chief engraver and 67 years old Jose Antonio de Sierra became assayer. By the end of June, silver coin dies were hastily made, becoming the first republic pieces know in the villa. On June 25, forty thousand pesos were taken out of the mint and deposited in the bank in order to rescue metals. The silver was recoined using new dies. The coins thus, obtained, had, on one of its sides, a central sun and a script which read: "Provincias del Rio de la Plata" and on the other one a garland held by two hands surrounded by the following inscription: "En Union y Libertad 1813". 

On July 28, the government of Buenois Aires sent to the Town Council fifty coins, which had been previously received from Potosi and were distributed among the employees. The face values coined in silver ranged from 8 to 1/2 reales and the amount of money issued from July 15 to November 18 covered a total of 831,929 pesos, most of it in pieces of eight. In fact, this figure is incomplete, for there is no reference to the amount minted before July 15, thought it to be noted that the patriot silver coinage was important. Conversely, the mintage of gold started on August 16 and finished on September 7 and during that period only 198 marks were coined. Such a small amount of money is reflected in the pieces presently known. Some twenty ounces, two coins of two escudos and four of one. While golden coins had their slantingly reeded edges just as the coins which had displayed the royal busts, those of silver had laurels of liberty engraved in the borders. Jorge Ferrari, who studied all the dies, known during this period, indicates that only a pair of dies were used for minting gold coins, while 35 different obverse types and 32 reverses were identified among silver coins of 8 reales. On of them produced the mistake in spelling "PRORVICIAS" instead of "PROVINCIAS". The last patriotic currency delivery took place in Potosi on November 18, 1813, on the same day Belgranos started his withdrawal towards Jujuy after being defeated in Ayohuma. Shortly before the patriot general had made the populous leave the Main Square as well as nearby streets in order to blow up the mint building. They placed a great number of barrels of powder in the inspector’s office. Fortunately, the plan could not be carried out. This event taking place would have caused more damage to the revolution, than to the enemy. Moreover, its conception speaks of highly excited revolutionary passions.  

Most of the mint offices were destroyed as a way of depriving royal followers of practical resources. Only on December 9th, 1813, the earliest date the royalist could restart coining afresh, the royalist coins display King Ferdinand’s bust. Smelter Jose Antonio de Sierra, whose initial "J" is stamped in all Argentine coins of 1813, was sent to prison for having helped the patriots and stayed there for more than a year until January 25, 1815 when the count of Real Casa de Mondeda ajudicated him innocent and replaced him in his previous position. On December 22, 1813, governor Lombera issued and signed a communication announcing that "All those possessing coins minted by the patriots had to present them at the mint during a period of three days, in order to exchange them for those of the King’s, losing six pesos toward reals per cent in the deal and those who did not obey the order were considered traitors to the King, being consequently punished". The rest of the provinces were given three month’s time. Numerous people going to the mint, and most the times there were no King’s Coins available for may dies had been destroyed. Instead, they were given money vouchers. During 1814, patriot coins continued being melted and in the same year, pieces of eight reales displaying King Ferndiand’s bust were minted. Rondeau was the second Argentine general to occupy the Villa Imperial once more in 1815. At that time, a new patriots issue was made only in silver. Most of the metal came from the confiscated royalists’ mines. Patriots had a hard time trying to replace employees in their old posts. According to his past experiences, well know assayer Sierra decided not to stay and migrated together with the royalist’s army. Issues carried out in 1815 were of two types. The first one had a nominal value expressed in reales and second one in soles. The change resulted from the need of eliminating royal out the currency name, which reminded them of the Spanish domination. while sol was very much rooted in the American Incaic Empire. Following both types, 941,316 pesos of different values were issued, supplying a profit of 139,000 pesos. During that period, the patriots did not have any assayers’ collaboration in the first stages they counted on Isidro Escarza whose initial did not appear in the coins. Later, in August 1815, Francisco Jose de Matos, patriot Sebastian de Matos son, was appointed chief assayer, and his initial F appeared in coins valued in reals. Once the change to soles was decided, a second L was included corresponding to Leandro Ozio from Potosi. These coins were inferior quality to those of 1813, and for that reason royalist exchanged them discounting an important amount from their face value. However, Patriots could also count with some experienced men who migrated in 1813, returned to Potosi in order to collaborate with the new minting process. One of them was engraver Pedro Vbenavidex who, after the defeat at Sipe-Sipe, remained in Tucuman where from 1820 to 1821 was in charge of engraving odd dies provincial issues of cobs. After the Argentine exit in November 1815, the Villa Imperial at Potosi remained in the hands of royalists who stayed in that city up to the end of Spanish domination. Between 1815 and 1824, Spaniards went on minting King Ferndinand’s coins and gold coins between 1822 and 1824. With the return of the patriots in 1825, the Royal Mint changed it name, being called the National Mint House. At the same time, most of the former exiled employees were replaced in their previous positions.  

References: Monedas and Medellas, Arnaldo J. Cunnieti-Ferrando

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