Faces of Money: The Good, The Bad, The Ugly
Medal shown:  Charles III, bronze medal, 1964, Spain
Charles III, 1716-1788, was King of Spain from 1759–88, and of
Naples and Sicily from 1735–59. He was the son of Philip V
and Elizabeth Farnese.
Charles involved Spain in the Seven Years War as a French ally, just
in time to share France’s defeat. By the Treaty of Paris of 1763
he ceded Florida to England but received Louisiana from France.
In the American Revolution, Charles entered (1779) the war on the
American side and by the Treaty of Paris of 1783 regained Florida and
Minorca.
Spain prospered under the rule of Charles, who is regarded as the
greatest Bourbon king of Spain and one of the “enlightened
despots.” His reign is noted for economic and administrative
reforms and for the expulsion of the Jesuits (1767)1.
When he died in 1788 he left a reputation as a philanthropic and
philosophic king still nicknamed "the mayor of Madrid" because of his
public works there.
As can be seen in his portrait, he was endowed with a very formidable
nose.
1 The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2001-05
at www.bartleby.com.
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