Mataró's 1641 emission belongs to one of the most turbulent episodes in Catalan history: the Corpus de Sang revolt of June 1640, which ignited a full separatist war against Castile and left Catalonia briefly allied with — and ultimately subordinated to — France. Municipal and local authorities across the Principality improvised their own coinage when Madrid's monetary supply collapsed in the region. The "VILLE" designation marks this as a municipal issue, a category the Spanish crown would never have sanctioned under normal governance.
Mataró's 1641 emission belongs to one of the most turbulent episodes in Catalan history: the Corpus de Sang revolt of June 1640, which ignited a full separatist war against Castile and left Catalonia briefly allied with — and ultimately subordinated to — France. Municipal and local authorities across the Principality improvised their own coinage when Madrid's monetary supply collapsed in the region. The "VILLE" designation marks this as a municipal issue, a category the Spanish crown would never have sanctioned under normal governance.