Juan II inherited the Castilian throne at the age of two following the death of his father Enrique III in 1406, leaving the kingdom under regency for years before he assumed personal rule. The blanca was the workhorse denomination of the period — debased repeatedly as the crown struggled to finance both internal faction wars and the ongoing Reconquista campaigns. Burgos, as the historic seat of Castilian royal authority, was among the most active mints producing this type.
Álvaro de Luna, the king's all-powerful favorite, effectively controlled fiscal policy through much of this reign, and successive debasements of the billon coinage tracked directly with his wars against the Aragonese alliance nobility.
Juan II inherited the Castilian throne at the age of two following the death of his father Enrique III in 1406, leaving the kingdom under regency for years before he assumed personal rule. The blanca was the workhorse denomination of the period — debased repeatedly as the crown struggled to finance both internal faction wars and the ongoing Reconquista campaigns. Burgos, as the historic seat of Castilian royal authority, was among the most active mints producing this type.
Álvaro de Luna, the king's all-powerful favorite, effectively controlled fiscal policy through much of this reign, and successive debasements of the billon coinage tracked directly with his wars against the Aragonese alliance nobility.