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4 Maravedis - Felipe III countermark
| Issuer | Spain |
|---|---|
| Year | 1603 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | 1 mm |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | The reverse displays the crowned rampant lion of León passant within a beaded inner circle, representing the second principal quartering of the royal arms of Castile and León. The lion is shown in profile facing left in typical early seventeenth-century Spanish heraldic style. A partial circular Latin legend, largely obscured by wear and the irregular planchet, surrounds the inner circle along the outer border of the coin. |
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| Edge | Plain |
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| Additional information |
Felipe III's 1603 coinage reform was driven by a chronic copper shortage exacerbated by the costs of maintaining Spain's sprawling imperial commitments. Rather than remint existing stock, the Crown authorized countermarking older maravedí pieces to revalue them — a cheaper fix that satisfied immediate fiscal needs without the expense of full recoinage. The result was a circulating mass of host coins of wildly varying age and condition, each stamped with the new crowned castle mark.
KM#19.1 distinguishes the Castilian issues from regionally countermarked variants. Host coin identity is often impossible to determine with certainty.