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2 Quartos James Spittle
| Issuer | Gibraltar |
|---|---|
| Year | 1820 |
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| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Real (1802-1861) |
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| Obverse description | A seated lion passant guardant facing left occupies the central field, its right forepaw resting upon a large key set upright on a ground line, an emblematic reference to the arms of Gibraltar. The lion is rendered in fine relief with a well-defined mane. The surrounding legend reads PAYABLE AT JAMES SPITTLE'S in the upper arc, with GIBRALTAR along the lower arc, all within a beaded border. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | The central field depicts a detailed architectural view of the Moorish Castle of Gibraltar, showing its characteristic Tower of Homage with crenellated battlements, an arched gateway, and lower flanking structures set upon a ground line. The date 1820 appears in the lower exergue below the castle. The encircling legend VALE DOS QUARTOS arcs around the upper and lateral portions of the field, all contained within a beaded border. |
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| Additional information |
Gibraltar's early nineteenth-century copper tokens were issued by private merchants and traders to address a chronic shortage of small change — the Crown made no systematic provision for low-denomination coinage on the Rock until well into the Victorian period. James Spittle was among the civilian traders operating in Gibraltar who resorted to issuing their own copper to keep commerce moving. Such pieces circulated alongside Spanish, Moorish, and British coinage in what was a genuinely polyglot monetary environment.
Lyall's documentation of this piece confirms its legitimacy as a recognized token type rather than a fantasy issue, though the line between sanctioned necessity and unauthorized private coinage was rarely clean in Gibraltar at this date.