Spanish Coins by King
This web site can be quite useful when trying to indentify Spnaish coinage from 1050 to the present day. The listings are by King and dates - clicking on one of the links will provide pics, denomination, legends, mints and approximate value in pesetas. The text is in Spanish, but the numimatic terminology, even in Spanish is easily understood.
Spanish Coins by King
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Spain & Its Coins
Hosted by the Smithsonian, this web site is part of the American History Learning Center's numismatics department. It covers the history and coinage of Spain from about 900 BC til the modern age.
Spain & Its Coins
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Spanish Colonial Pillar Coinage
"Western civilization was brought to the Philippines after its 'discovery' in 1521 by Fernando Magallanes (Ferdinand Magellan), and its eventual colonization by Miguel Lopez de Legaspi in 1565 on behalf of Spain. Spain stretched its economic and political influence from central and south America to Philippines in the far east. In terms of economics, its gold and silver coins are used by merchants and traders in conducting business.
The Spanish King Philip V (1701-1746) introduced in 1732 the milled coinage. This was to counter widespread 'chipping" of cob-type hammered coins. The first of these design is the Pillar design. The Pillars became very popular among traders for its design and its silver content, which was quite high during those period.
The Pillars were struck until 1772 by the silver mints of the Spanish colonies in central and south America."
Spanish Colonial
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Spanish Colonial Silver Reales Coin Types
"Throughout the year we are frequently asked to help in the identification of old coins presumed to be of Spanish origin. Since Spanish colonial mints existed in the New World long before those of the United States, their currency was an accepted standard and freely passed hands in the American colonies. Thus, it is not unreasonable to assume that a coin excavated on American soil or recovered from our surrounding waterways to be of Spanish origin.
Twelve Spanish colonial mints, Mexico, Santo Domingo, Lima, La Plata, Potosi, Panama, Cartegena, Bogotá, Cuzco, Guatemala, Santiago, and Popayan produced a total of five different types of silver reales coins, pillar, shield, pillar and waves, milled pillar, and milled bust during Spain's almost 300 years of colonial rule. The information provided should help in the identification of Spanish colonial silver reales coins by coin type, time period, and mint of manufacture."
Silver Reales Coin Types
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Spanish Silver
"For centuries Spanish silver coinage was famous throughout the world as the standard by which other coinages were measured, due to its consistent weight and purity. The ascendancy of Spanish coinage dates from 1537 when Charles I, revising an act of 1479, promulgated exacting standards for Spanish silver and gold coins. The Spanish eight reales coin was set at a weight of 423.9 grains (27.47 grams) of .9305 fine silver. From that date the coin only depreciated some 4.4% over the next 250 years! In addition to its stability, Spanish coinage was abundant. Spanish regulated coinage was not only minted throughout Spain but was also produced in Spain's colonial possessions. As early as 1536, a year before the coinage reform, Spanish colonial silver coins were minted in Mexico City. With the discovery of major silver and gold deposits throughout the Viceroyalty of Peru (which included all of Spanish South America from what is now Panama down to Venezuela) major mints were opened in Lima, Peru (1568-1589 then reopened in 1684), Potosí, Bolivia (from 1575) and Santa Fe de Bogotá, Columbia (from 1620). Later, additional mints were located in Guatemala City (from 1733), Santiago, Chile (from 1750), and Popayan, Columbia (from 1758). From these locations, and to a lesser extent from Spain, a number of coins made their way into the English colonies."
Spanish Silver
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The Library of Iberian Resources Online
"The Library of Iberian Resources Online (LIBRO) is a joint project of the American Academy of Research Historians of Medieval Spain and the University of Central Arkansas. Its task is to make available to users the best scholarship about the peoples and nations of the Iberian peninsula. Consequently, the book list is principally drawn from recent, but out-of-print university press monographs. In addition, the collection includes a number of basic texts and sources in translation. These are presented in full-text format and reproduce all the matter included in the original print version. The collection focuses upon peninsular history from the fifth to the seventeenth centuries. Future plans call for the addition of modern materials as well. The Editorial Board welcomes suggestions for additions to the booklist. The initial establishment of LIBRO was made possible through the generosity of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and it continues with the generous support of the University of Central Arkansas. "
Library of Iberian Resources
An example from the Library -
Example
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1538 8 reales
"Specialists identify Americas' first silver dollar-sized coin -
Numismatic researchers have confirmed the discovery of an undated (1538) 8-real coin of Spanish rulers Charles I and his mother, Johanna, and identify the coin as the first silver dollar-sized coin minted in the Americas."
1538 8 reales
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