French colonists in St. Louis had a monopoly on trade with Santa Fe, which was granted by the Spanish crown before the Louisiana Purchase. That all changed in 1821. With Mexican independence, the frontier territories opened up to trade.
William Becknell, an American freight operator, established the famed Santa Fe Trail that same year, blazing a path to the eponymous Sante Fe from his base of operations in Franklin, Missouri. 2021 marks the 200th anniversary of the Santa
Fe Trail.
During the early days of the United States—before the establishment of the mint and the creation of the dollar—the coins circulating in the country were predominately milled Spanish silver. These reales were used along the Santa Fe Trail and were legal tender in the U.S. until 1857. This is a genuine silver half reales coin of the kind that circulated in the territory that is now the United States
from 1772-1821.
