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!
2 Maravedis - Carlos I
| Issuer | Casa de Moneda de México |
|---|---|
| Year | 1542-1551 |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| 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 | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | At center, a crowned castle is depicted in the field, flanked on each side by the mintmark letter M. The surrounding peripheral legend, introduced by a cross, completes the second half of the full Spanish imperial motto when read in conjunction with the obverse. The full combined legend, distributed across both sides and occasionally abbreviated on a single face, renders the dynastic formula CAROLVS ET IOHANA REGES HISPANIARVM ET INDIARVM. The die workmanship reflects the crude but characteristic style of early hammered copper coinage produced at the Mexico City Mint in the mid-sixteenth century. |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Casa de Moneda de México (Mexico City Mint) |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
Among the earliest copper coins struck in the Americas, this issue predates any organized hemispheric monetary system by generations. The Mexico City mint — established by royal decree in 1535 — was primarily tasked with silver production; copper coinage was an afterthought, minted to address the chronic shortage of low-denomination exchange that plagued colonial markets where cacao beans still functioned as small change.
Carlos I here is Carlos V of the Holy Roman Empire, the same monarch managing the Reformation, the Ottoman advance into Europe, and the Aztec aftermath simultaneously. Survival rates for circulated copper from this mint and period are extremely low — the combination of tropical humidity, active use, and negligible intrinsic value meant most were lost or discarded rather than hoarded.