![]() Theirs was clearly a political union, as they married only two days after their first meeting! For four years between 15, the King also ruled England jointly with his second wife, the Catholic Queen Mary I. ![]() Under King Philip II’s reign, Spain enjoyed its “Golden Age”, with an empire upon which it was said that the sun never set. 1556–98), the first Escudos struck by the Mint bore his shield, and this design appears on the 2018 Four Escudos. Built during the reign of King Philip II (r. Gold from the New World began to arrive in Spain after 1503, and it is estimated that twenty-five tons went to the Seville Mint during the 16 th Century alone. All four original escudo denominations were struck in their original sizes, each with a reworked design that charts the unique history of this remarkable coin. In 2018, 150 years after the last circulating escudo was issued, the Royal Mint of Spain struck their most iconic gold coin again, this time as a 24-carat gold commemorative. This brought over three hundred years of escudo production to an end. In 1864 Spain relaunched the escudo in silver as the official currency of Spain, but just four years later, they joined the Latin Monetary Union and introduced the Peseta. Its popularity only waned after 1857 when it ceased to be accepted as legal tender in the United States. The Spanish escudo remained the most widely used currency in the Americas for over three centuries. Escudos were produced throughout the New World, in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador and Peru. The new coin was inspired by the Venetian Ducat, a popular trading coin due to its identifiable design, constant weight and consistent purity.Īs Spain grew to become one of the world’s first major superpowers, the importance of the escudo as the chief gold coin of Spanish-America grew with it. 1516–58), constructed the first mint in the New World at Mexico City and ordered them to strike escudos with gold mined from the region. In 1537 the Holy Roman Emperor, King Charles I of Spain (r. They prized brightly coloured feathers, cacao beans and cloth far above the yellow metal, and Cortés excitedly reported that half a kilo of gold could be purchased for just 250 cacao beans! When Hernán Cortés (1485–1547) arrived in Mexico, he was amazed to find that the Aztecs had so much gold that they used it to decorate childrens’ toys, walls, ornaments and plates. ![]() In 1511, King Ferdinand of Spain instructed his conquistadors to “get gold, humanely if you can, but at all costs, get gold”. Upon his arrival in the Caribbean in 1492, the Italian explorer’s first question was apparently to ask where he could find it! When it became clear that the New World had gold in plentiful supply, Spain quickly dispatched more expeditions.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |