4 Maravedis - Felipe III Segovia, copper

Felipe III inherited a Castilian treasury dependent on American silver, but the chronic shortage of small-denomination coinage for everyday transactions drove the Crown to authorize a massive expansion of copper vellón production beginning in 1599. The Segovia mint, powered by a water-driven mill on the Eresma River, was the most technically advanced facility in Spain and handled a disproportionate share of this output. By 1608, so much copper coinage had flooded Castile that the Crown was forced to suspend further minting — only to resume and repeat the cycle.

Segovia pieces from this series are distinguished from other Castilian mints by the aqueduct mintmark and the mechanical regularity of the mill-struck blanks.