Republican cuartilla (quarter real)
by Dave Busse
The actual standard diameter of the cuartilla (¼R) is 12mm and it has a weight of 0.846 grams.
The ¼R departed from the basic Cap & Rays design found on the ½R, 1R, 2R, 4R and 8R of the Republic. The obverse features a bust of the Goddess of Liberty along with the Mintmark and the Assayer Initials. The reverse features the denomination centered on the coin and surrounded by a legend showing the Date (at the bottom) and REPUBLICA MEXICANA around the rest of the perimeter.
Most issues use the initials L. R. Luciano Rovira, a student of Gordillo, was the die sinker at the Mexico City mint who created the dies either in 1841 or early in 1842. Rovira was also responsible for a 1841 pattern for a one centavo coin and various medals, including an 1836 medal of Michael de Santa María (Grove 77a), an 1842 medal honouring Santa Anna as 'BENEMERITO DE LA PATRIA, CAUDILLO DE LA INDEPENDENCIA Y FUNDADOR DE LA REPUBLICA (Grove 81a) and an 1843 Constitution medal (Grove 85a). In 6 July 1866 the Emperor Maximilian awarded Rovira the Medalla del Merito Civil (silver class) La Sociedad, Tomo VI, Núm. 1,107, 7 July 1866,
Other Assayer Initials used at some mints include:
PM (Patrick Murphy) at Guanajuato
RG (Rodrigo García) at Chihuahua
JG (Juan de Dios Guzman) at Guadalajara
MC (Manuel Cueras) at Guadalajara
One mint, San Luis Potosí, did not use Assayer Initials on the ¼R using instead the initials S. L. PI.
Mints that produced the cuartilla were:
| Mint | Year(s) |
| Chihuahua | 1843 |
| Culiacan | 1855 |
| Durango | 1842 & 1843 |
| Guadalajara | 1842-57 & 1862 |
| Guadalupe y Calvo | |
| Guanajuato | 1842-56 & 1862 |
| Mexico City | 1842-46, 1850, 1858-63 |
| San Luis Potosi | 1842-47, 1851, 1854, 1856-57, & 1862 |
| Zacatecas | 1842 |
Note that half of the mints that struck the ¼R produced them in only one or two years.
Chihuahua
KM-368 ¼r Chihuahua 1843 CaRG (Stack’s Bowers Baltimore Auction, 28 March 2011, lot 8081)
Culiacán
KM-368.1 ¼r Culiacán 1855 CLR (Stack’s Bowers Baltimore Auction, 28 March 2011, lot 8082)
Durango
KM-368.2 ¼r Durango 1842 DoLR (Stack’s Bowers Baltimore Auction, 28 March 2011, lot 8083)
Guadalajara
KM-368.3 ¼r Guadalajara 1848 GaLR (Stack’s Bowers Baltimore Auction, 28 March 2011, lot 8087)
Guadalupe y Calvo
KM-368.4 ¼r Guadalupe y Calvo 1844 GCLR (Stack’s Bowers Baltimore Auction, 28 March 2011, lot 8090)
Guanajuato
Mexico City
KM-368.6 ¼r Mexico City 1844/3 MoLR (Stack’s Bowers Auction, 13 February 2019, lot 71483)
KM-368.6 ¼r Mexico City 1850 MoLR (Stack’s Bowers Baltimore Auction, 28 March 2011, lot 8105)
San Luis Potosí
KM-368.7 ¼r San Luis Potosí 1862/57 SLPi (Stack’s Bowers Auction, 13 February 2019, lot 71494)
Zacatecas
KM-368.8 1 ¼r 1842/1 Z LR (Stack’s Bowers Kirk Menczer Collection, 23 June 2026, lot 72061)