Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
Dinero 'prieto' - Alfonso X Murcia
| Issuer | Kingdom of Castile and Leon |
|---|---|
| Year | 1269-1277 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Hammered |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Central field bears a stylized castle with three towers, the central tower being taller and flanked by two shorter lateral towers, all rendered in the characteristic Romanesque manner of Castilian medieval coinage. The castle is enclosed within a plain inner circle. The surrounding legend reads ALF REX CASTELLE, disposed in capital Latin letters around the periphery, separated by pellets or cross stops. The coin is struck on an irregular flan typical of hammered billon issues of the period, with a beaded or toothed border visible on parts of the rim. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Latin |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
Alfonso X ordered a series of monetary reforms in 1252 that flooded Castile with debased billon coinage, and the dinero prieto — "black penny," named for the darkened appearance of heavily alloyed silver — was among the most depreciated issues of his reign. Murcia had only been under Castilian control since 1243, and operating a mint there was as much a political act as an economic one, pressing the crown's authority into freshly conquered territory through currency.
The Murcian issues under AB#253 are distinguishable from contemporaneous Castilian strikes by subtle die characteristics that specialists have documented, though attribution without reference remains difficult given the volume produced across multiple mints simultaneously.