Enrique IV's half-enrique emerged directly from the monetary ordinances of 1471, part of his broader — and largely unsuccessful — effort to stabilize a coinage that had become catastrophically debased under pressure from the Castilian nobility. The king's authority over the mints was effectively contested for much of his reign; several lords operated unauthorized mints, flooding circulation with underweight and base issues. Madrid was among the crown-controlled facilities producing the gold denominations.
AB#651 is attributed to the Madrid mint based on mintmark, a distinction that matters given how many contemporary forgeries and irregular strikes entered circulation during this period.
Enrique IV's half-enrique emerged directly from the monetary ordinances of 1471, part of his broader — and largely unsuccessful — effort to stabilize a coinage that had become catastrophically debased under pressure from the Castilian nobility. The king's authority over the mints was effectively contested for much of his reign; several lords operated unauthorized mints, flooding circulation with underweight and base issues. Madrid was among the crown-controlled facilities producing the gold denominations.
AB#651 is attributed to the Madrid mint based on mintmark, a distinction that matters given how many contemporary forgeries and irregular strikes entered circulation during this period.