Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
1/4 Real Santa Marta
| Issuer | Santa Marta, City of |
|---|---|
| Year | 1820 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 1/4 Real |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | A plain cross divides the field into four quarters, with the initials S (left) and M (right) appearing in the upper two quarters, a castle in the lower-left quarter, and a sword with a pyramid of cannon balls in the lower-right quarter. The entire central device is encircled by a wreath of laurel or oak branches, forming a decorative border around the quartered cross design. The coin's surface shows the characteristically rough, irregular fabric typical of emergency cast coinage. No legend is present; the mint monogram S·M stands for Santa Marta. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | A royal crown is depicted in the upper field above the fractional denomination, flanked by a castle to the left and a sword with a pyramid of cannon balls to the right, with the date inscribed in the lower field. The composition references the civic arms of Santa Marta and serves as a bold declaration of local authority during the independence period. The layout is compact and centrally arranged, consistent with the improvised nature of this emergency issue. No outer legend is present, the design relying entirely on symbolic devices and numerals to convey value and date. |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
Santa Marta's 1820 copper fractional issue belongs to a chaotic moment in Nueva Granada's monetary history, when royalist-held coastal cities were producing emergency coinage largely cut off from Bogotá and from each other. Santa Marta remained one of the last royalist strongholds on the South American mainland, holding out against patriot forces until November 1821. These small coppers circulated under siege conditions in a city that knew its days under the Spanish crown were numbered.
Hernández documents this type as scarce in any condition, which is unsurprising given the limited population it served and the brevity of its issuing authority.