About the Museum

The National Mint of Bolivia (Spanish: Casa de la Moneda de Bolivia) or the Mint of Potosí (in colonial era) is a former mint located in the city of Potosí in Bolivia. It was from the mint of Potosí that most of the silver shipped through the Spanish Main came, in the form of coins denominating the Spanish dollar, which became world's major international currency during the reign of the Spanish Empire. The current-day facility is a museum, on the site of the colonial mint's second location, which operated from 1773 to 1951. The coinage minted during its period became so well known in the world that a saying, memorialized by Miguel de Cervantes, came into use: valer un potosí, "to be worth a potosí" (that is, "a fortune").