Segovia Mint

HISTORY OF SEGOVIA’S MINTS

Coins are an industrially manufactured product, each piece identical, made in series to exact specifications regarding weight, fineness and objects portrayed, issued by governments in their own benefit. Coinage is curiously one of civilization’s oldest, most ingenious and useful inventions. Coins were first used in Lidia, on the coast of Turkey, around 640 B.C. By the end of the 4th century B.C. the Greeks were striking coins in their Iberian costal colonies of Ampurias, Rosas, Ibiza and Cadiz. Later, the Romans struck coins in more than 300 mints, flooding the peninsula with coinage. Coins are not only useful to promote colonization and commerce, but also as a political statement, omnipresent symbol of the colony; the Roman occupation of the peninsula.

The two thousand year tradition of striking coins in Segovia has its roots between 30 and 20 B.C. when the bronze Roman ‘as’ was struck. The famous Iberian knight on horseback above the inscription ‘SEGOVIA’ is the oldest known source of the name of the city. It’s even possible that these coins were used to pay the builders of the aqueduct.

The period of Roman influence in Iberia began to decline, and in 408 A.C. the peninsula was invaded by the Suebi, Alans and Vandals. Later, from 509 to 710 the Visigoths struck coins in nearly 80 mints, but no coins are known to be from Segovia during these periods. Then, from 711 to the end of the Reconquest in 1492, the Muslim invaders struck coins in more than 60 different mints. But again, no coins issued by Muslim authorities are known to be from Segovia.

MINTING IN UNCONFIRMED LOCATIONS

During the period of the Reconquest, many coins were issued by the Christian kings in Segovia. The earliest identified pieces are from the time of Alfonso VI of Castile (1072-1109). Later, Alfonso VII (1126-1157) also struck billon coins in Segovia as well as leaving us the first written testimony of the coining industry in Segovia. In 1135 he granted the church of Saint Mary, one-third part of all the coins struck in Segovia, reducing it to the one-fourth part in 1139, for the costs of building the new cathedral.

Bronze Roman ‘as’, the oldest known example of the name of Segovia (30-20 a.C.).

Medieval coins struck at unknown locations in Segovia.

Alfonso VII in 1139, grants one quarter part of the coins struck in Segovia for the construction of the cathedral.

Segovia became populous and prospered. Even today, over 20 Romanesque churches from the medieval period are still standing in Segovia, proof of the economic activity which gave rise to the striking of abundant coinage. These issues were all struck in unconfirmed minting locations, probably beginning in a small smithy within the cathedral, which was being built with the coins being struck. These coins include billon issues by Alfonso VIII (1158-1214), Henry II, (1369-1379) and John I (1379-1390). It has not yet been shown that Henry III (1390-1406) or John II (1406-1454), who was the father of Henry IV, struck coins in Segovia.

THE OLD HAMMER MINT

Henry IV, known as the Segovian King because he lived in this city, built a new Mint, which he inaugurated in 1455. According to Diego de Colmenares, in his “History of Segovia”, published in 1637, Henry IV “ordered the Mint standing today to be built” because “the Mint was in a bad state of repair”. Seemingly, coining began in the cathedral and perhaps at a later time moved to the location where Henry IV built his new Mint.

The new factory was located in the yard of the Saint Sebastian church, along the inside wall of the city, and equidistant between the Saint John gate to the city and the end of the Aqueduct. For more than a century it was know as the “Segovia Mint”. But with the construction of the new Royal Mill Mint in 1583, Henry IV’s factory became known as the “Old Mint”, and figures as such in all official documents since then in order to avoid confusion, since both mints functioned simultaneously during 95 years.

Henry IV’s old hammer Mint, “LA MONETA”, as seen in the drawing by Wyngaerde, 1562.

Henry IV grants special privileges to his coiners in 1456.

The Old Mint struck great quantities of coins, from the most famous and giant coins of Castile, to tons of the most common issues. In 1619 work was carried out on the building in order to increase production, which in 1625 alone reached over 400 tons of copper coin struck in one year, or over a ton of metal per day. We can imagine the amount of charcoal it would take to melt that much copper daily. There would have been a constant parade of pack mules coming and going, carrying fuel, copper, struck coins, provisions; as well as many people, over one hundred coiners alone with hammers, not counting the rest of the crew and officials. In reality, it was one huge industrial plant within the walls of the city.

The glory days for the Old Mint lasted until 1626, when the series of copper coins being struck at all the mints, was suspended. From then on, coining was very sporadic, except for six big campaigns in which countermarks were hammered onto old copper coins to adjust their value. The plant fell into total disuse after 1661. In 1680 the Old Mint opened again to strike its last coins, and finally closed its doors for the last time on June 8, 1681. In 1686 Charles II ordered that no more hammer striking of coins would be allowed, which sealed the fate of the Old Mint, although it did not loose its minting privilege until 1730.

20 golden enriques, ostentation coin of the so called ‘Segovian King’.

20 excelentes of Ferdinand and Isabella, symbol of their power.

The last coin struck at the old hammer Mint.

GENERAL CONTEXT

A fundamental part of understanding the history of the two Segovia Mints is that of considering the context of Castilian mints in general; a reality to which both mints were always subjected. Starting with King Philip II, the situation was very competitive, and each mint vied against the others to attract business of the silver merchants as well as the king. The silver arrived once a year to Seville on the galleons from Havana. The first to strike coins was the king, who prohibited the merchants from coining their silver in Seville until his bars were all converted into coin. Philip II wanted cash in hand as quickly as possible in order to avoid paying interest on his many and very famous debts. When the King occupied the Seville Mint for his own purposes, the silver merchants were literally forced to take their metals to other mints for coining, signing prearranged written agreements with officials of the mint, and using slow and expensive mule-trains to transport the metal, and later coins.

As a result of this situation and the extra costs involved for transporting the metal, the silver merchants, scheming with mint officials, began helping themselves to what they could by illegally reducing the fineness and weight of the coins they struck. A typical shipment of 35.000 kilos of silver to Segovia required: 700 mules (50 kilos / mule), 150 people (100 mule drivers + 25 security guards + 25 helpers), as well as food for people and mules during 30 days (600 km at 20 km / day). There were mints in Seville, Granada, Cuenca, Toledo, Segovia, Burgos and La Coruña. In 1568 Philip II established a new mint in Valladolid, and later his private Royal Mill Mint in Segovia, which began striking his own silver in 1586. Madrid would not have a mint until 1614. The volume of coins struck in each mint is typically a direct result of its distance from Seville, which is why practically no coins are known during this period from La Coruña.

Chart of silver coins struck.

Chart of Gold coins struck.

Proportions struck by each mint.