GLENN STEPHEN MURRAY FANTOM
Historic Spanish Mints Today
Introduction
Few mysteries remain concerning the coinage struck at
the modern Spanish Peninsular Mints. Recent publications include monographic studies of the history of
some mints, and even calculations of the total quantity of coinage struck. Abundant documentation exists
pertaining to these modern mints, particularly in the
General Archive of Simancas, near Valladolid, for the
period after 1566, when the seniorage tax was imposed on gold and silver coins struck by private individuals. This new tax had the effect of insuring a more
rigorous system of accounting, and the obligatory
remission of these statistics to the General
Accountants in Madrid.
Nevertheless, very little is known about the remains of
the historic mint buildings, or their exact location in
the case of structures which have disappeared. In this
study, we have compiled photographic documentation
of the mint buildings, their remains, or the current
buildings which stand on locations from which the
mint structures have disappeared. This information is
the beginning of a more extensive study which will
form a part of the future Royal Segovia Mint
Museum, in which the major emphasis for the displays
will be the manufacturing processes used in the striking of coinage, as well as the general context of all
the modern Spanish mints, as documented in this
study, and of which the Segovia Mint formed an integral part.
Modern Mints
To begin with, we need to define what is considered to
be a Modern Spanish Peninsular Mint. The famous
Pragmatic of 1497, promulgated in Medina del Campo,
by the Catholic Kings, Ferdinand and Isabella, is considered to be the beginning of the modern period of
Spain’s monetary system. This law, which organized the
chaotic state of Spain’s medieval minting system, ordered the closure of dozens of existing mints, except for
seven strategically located throughout the Kingdom of
Castile: Toledo, Segovia, Seville, Burgos, Granada,
Cuenca and La Coruña; while leaving unaffected those
open and operating in other Kingdoms: Barcelona,
Pamplona, Valencia and Zaragoza. In addition, we must
take into account two regular mints created at later
dates: Valladolid, which struck its first coins in 1568;
and Madrid, in 1615. The Pragmatic of 1497 is considered to be the most important law governing mints
and minting, remaining essentially in effect up until the
1730 Ordinance, which closed all Castilian mints
except for those in Segovia, Madrid and Seville.
Having established the above general outline, we must
also take into consideration the special, or emergency
mints, which were created primarily due to wartime
necessities: Trujillo, which first struck in 1641,
Cordoba, in 1664; Cadiz, in 1810; and Jubia, in 1811.
Finally, the mint in Linares, is an exceptional case
where two Genovese brothers, concessionaires of the
local copper mines, were authorized to strike only copper denominations of 2 maravedis after having presented a convincing proposal to the king during a time of
extreme economic necessity beginning in 1692.
Another general concept we should keep in mind is the
tendency over the 500-year period in question, for a
continuously fluctuating reduction-expansion pattern
in the number of mints striking coins. In 1497, as we
have stated, dozens of authorized mints were reduced
to seven strategically located factories due to the
inability of Crown officials to control fraudulent production. Valladolid was granted authorization to mint
coins seemingly as a compensatory measure after it
was replaced by Madrid as the capital. As the seat of
government, Madrid was later granted a mint. A
second mint was built in Segovia specifically to house
the mechanized production system imported from
Tyrol, in Austria, though due to longstanding privileges, the old mint there was not closed until one-hundred years after the new mint was operational. We
have already mentioned the special cases of mints created due to wartime necessities.
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With that said, two major factors are particularly
important for understanding the significant reduction
in the number of Spanish Peninsular mints in 1730,
and later in 1868. The Ordinance of 1730 mandated
the mechanization of Spanish Colonial Mints in the
New World: Mexico, Lima, Potosi, and Bogota. This
was a highly efficient chain of factories to which was
soon added other units in Guatemala, Santiago de
Chile, and Popayan. From this point on, and indeed
even beginning around the middle of the 17th century,
the Colonial mints reached the capacity to strike into
coin practically the entire production of the rich local
silver and gold mines, thus there was no need to send
ingots to Spain prior to their being turned into coinage. Metals and coin manufacturing were taxed in
the New World, and these coins were then sent to
Spain. This had a tremendous effect on production at
the Peninsular Mints.
The definitive centralization of Peninsular coin production was brought about by the building of a large,
steam-powered Mint in Madrid, inaugurated in 1861.
Once all production aspects of this mint were fully on
line with the new automated presses, all of the remaining mints were permanently closed. Today, the only
mint currently producing coinage is the Madrid Mint.
So, what happened to the old mint buildings?
It’s difficult to generalize about what happened to the
structures which housed the old mints. During the
17th and 18th centuries, many were converted to
other uses. The same holds true in part for those of
the 19th century closures, but during the 20th century,
urbanization obliterated most of the old structures,
either in part or in whole. Most of the remains still
visible today are in the historic central parts of the
cities where selective urbanization spared parts of, or
in a few cases practically the entire building. Few
records were preserved on exactly what happened to
most. Nevertheless, after the final centralization,
prompted by the opening of the new Mint in Madrid,
we can find interesting accounts, including extensive
descriptions of the buildings in the public auction
records pertaining to the sale of the buildings. This is
especially true in the case of the Jubia, Seville, Segovia
Mill, and old Madrid Mint buildings. The best preserved mint buildings today are those in Seville,
Barcelona and especially the Segovia Mill Mint, which
is currently being restored as a museum of minting
technology, where photographs of all the other mint
buildings will be an important part of the display
panels.
In order to document the case of each Mint, the
author realized extensive travels to each city. Archives
were researched and photographs were taken of the
buildings, their remains, or the location where disappeared mints once stood. The findings of this research were published in Spanish in 2003 by the
EuroMint Project –“Guía de las cecas españolas”– and
placed on the Project’s web site: http://www.euromint.net.
The same findings were presented in English at the
XIII International Numismatic Congress, in Madrid,
in September of 2003. This presentation was based
on a PowerPoint projection of 45 frames containing a
total of 108 photographs. In this paper, we have reduced the number of original photos in order to comply
with space restrictions. Nevertheless, the complete
photographic files on each mint can be found in the
above mentioned publication and web site. The author
invites others to use these photos, free of charge,
when preparing studies on the different mints, in
hope that in the future the images of the mint buildings themselves will add interest to publications
about coins from Spanish Peninsular Mints. The
author can be contacted at: [email protected].
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HISTORIC SPANISH MINTS TODAY
PHOTOGRAPHS OF MINT BUILDINGS, THEIR REMAINS,
OR LOCATIONS WHERE THEY ONCE STOOD
Segovia
The Old Segovia Mint was rebuilt in 1455, struck coins
until 1681, and was closed officially in 1730. Today
disappeared, it was located inside the walled part of the city,
towards the lower right-hand side of the photo at top-left.
The Royal Segovia Mill Mint was built in 1583, and
struck coins until 1868. It is located outside the walled
portion of the city, on the Eresma River, from which its 14
waterwheels were powered.
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Seville
The Old Seville Mint, today disappeared, was located in
this open space between the Cathedral, Lonja, and Royal
Alcazar, in the photo at top-left.
The New Seville Mint was built in 1586, and struck coins
until 1868. It’s entrance is located on Havana Street, and
the large complex occupies most of the triangle between
the Gold Tower, the Silver Tower, and the above mentioned
entrance.
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Barcelona
The Barcelona Mint struck coins on this location from
1350 until 1879. The complex, with its main entrance
and decorative coat of arms on Flassaders Street, occupied
the entire city block formed by that street and Mosques,
Cirera and Seca Streets. The chimney was built when the
mint used a steam engine to power machinery. Today parts
of the mint are occupied by a private gallery, apartments,
and a shop, which has an interesting cellar.
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Toledo
La Coruña
The Mint at La Coruña was located in this building until
it struck its last coin in 1696, and was finally closed
officially in 1730. The entrance is immediately adjacent
to the Santo Domingo Church, on the plaza of the same
name. Today the building houses modern offices.
The Toledo Mint was moved to number 12 Núñez de
Arce Street in 1504, where it remained until it struck its
last coin in 1681, and was closed officially in 1730.
Much of the industrial part of building has been lost, and
the most noteworthy feature is the magnificent Gothic
painted artisan ceilings. Today, this noble part of the building has been restored, and houses modern offices.
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HISTORIC SPANISH MINTS TODAY
Cuenca
The sign “Calle de la Moneda” signals the approximate location of the old hammer mint in Cuenca. Production was transferred to a new hydraulic-powered
building on Bajada de la Fabrica Street in 1661, and continued until 1727. The
mint’s dam is visible from San Antón bridge. Today, the location serves as an
electric generation plant.
Jubia
The mint at Jubia, on the tip the Bay of Ferrol, was created in 1811 as an emergency facility to strike copper coins after the French occupied Spanish mints,
finally closing in 1868. Today a modern textile plant, part of the old hydraulic
infrastructure of the water-powered mint can still be seen.
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Pamplona
The Pamplona Mint struck coins in this building on
Plazuela Comptos and Ansoleaga Street from 1524 to
1836. Today modern offices occupy the building.
Cadiz
The Cadiz Mint, on La Rosa Street and the Caleta
beachfront, was established in 1810 as an emergency
facility to strike silver and gold coins after the French
occupied Spanish mints. The mint was closed in 1815
and today is part of the University of Cadiz.
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HISTORIC SPANISH MINTS TODAY
Burgos
Granada
Archaeological remains are all that is left of the
Granada Mint, which struck coins from 1492 until
1685, on Porteria Concepcion Street, across the river
from the Alhambra.
The decorative coat of arms is all that remains of the
Burgos Mint, now on a new building at the same
location, at the corner of San Juan, Santocildes and
Moneda Streets. The Mint struck coins until 1681,
and was officially closed in 1730.
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Madrid
Madrid has had four different mints: Segovia Street
(1615-1861), Puerta de Alcala (1661-1664), Plaza de
Colón (1861-1964), and the only remaining plant, on
Jorge Juan at Dr. Esquerdo Streets (1964-today).
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LOCATIONS OF DISAPPEARED MINT BUILDINGS
Córdoba
• Córdoba:
• Linares:
• Trujillo:
• Valladolid:
• Valencia:
• Zaragoza:
Near San Hipolito Church
Corner of Teniente Ochoa and Porton Streets
San Miguel Plaza
San Lorenzo Street
Paz street
Near the Lonja
Linares
Trujillo
Valladolid
Valencia
Zaragoza
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