This paper uses a judicial case to consider the peculiar situation by which a religious order ended up owning the post of assayer of the Royal Mint of Mexico; the policies of the king’s ministers in this regard; and the legal status, rights and forms of retribution of the deputies who actually undertook its labor. Beyond that case’s specific points of contention, the importance of the prestige and honor of an extremely skilled worker in the context of an Ancien Regime society is also discussed.

This paper uses a judicial case to consider the peculiar situation by which a religious order ended up owning the post of assayer of the Royal Mint of Mexico; the policies of the king’s ministers in this regard; and the legal status, rights and forms of retribution of the deputies who actually undertook its labor. Beyond that case’s specific points of contention, the importance of the prestige and honor of an extremely skilled worker in the context of an Ancien Regime society is also discussed.

This paper uses a judicial case to consider the peculiar situation by which a religious order ended up owning the post of assayer of the Royal Mint of Mexico; the policies of the king’s ministers in this regard; and the legal status, rights and forms of retribution of the deputies who actually undertook its labor. Beyond that case’s specific points of contention, the importance of the prestige and honor of an extremely skilled worker in the context of an Ancien Regime society is also discussed.