Cerro Rico already open

In 1574 Potosí’s silver working is already underway. Eight-real pieces are becoming empire coin. Amsterdam’s public bank is not open yet.

Potosí and Cerro Rico, in a panorama of 1758. Silver working began in the 1540s. This picture is not from the year of the page.CC0.

Major silver working at Cerro Rico began in the 1540s. Ore moved to a colonial mint, then into the fleet and into Eurasian payments. This year does not open a new mine on these pages.

The eight-real piece is the coin face of that silver. Venice’s Banco della Piazza di Rialto opens in 1587, after private-bank failures. The Wisselbank is 1609.

Potosí — the silver mountain →