Proclamation of Ferdinand VI (1746-1747), Betts 338-380

About This Coin

Spanning Betts catalog numbers 338 through 380, this extensive grouping of proclamation medals celebrates the accession of Ferdinand VI to the Spanish throne in 1746, an event of enormous consequence for Spain's American colonies. Proclamation medals were struck by colonial mints and municipal authorities across the vast Spanish Empire — from Mexico City and Lima to Guatemala, Santiago, and Manila — as official commemorations of the new king's reign. Each colonial capital and major city produced its own distinctive design, typically featuring Ferdinand's royal portrait on the obverse and local heraldic imagery or the city's coat of arms on the reverse. The sheer number of Betts catalog entries (over forty distinct types) reflects the geographic breadth of the Spanish colonial system and the importance attached to publicly affirming loyalty to the new monarch through tangible metallic objects distributed during elaborate civic ceremonies. These medals were typically thrown to crowds during public celebrations, a practice known as "jura" that combined political theater with popular festivity. Within the Betts Medals (1580-1784) series, the Ferdinand VI proclamation group offers collectors an opportunity to assemble a geographic survey of the Spanish colonial world in miniature. A notable auction result reached $1.5K in Genuine grade at Heritage Auctions, though the rarest colonial issues command substantially higher prices.