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Meaja '1st Granada war' - Alfonso X no mark
| Issuer | Castile and Leon, Kingdom of |
|---|---|
| Year | 1264-1268 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Reference(s) | AB#247 |
| Obverse description | Royal legend arranged in six horizontal lines across the field, rendered in Gothic Latin lettering. The inscription reads ALFONSVS REX CASTELLE ET LEGIONIS, identifying the issuer as Alfonso X, King of Castile and Leon. The lettering is crudely struck, as is characteristic of hammered billon coinage of this period, with the text filling the entire flan. No mint mark is present, consistent with the no-mark variety. The irregular flan edges and weak areas of strike reflect the primitive minting methods of 13th-century Castilian small coinage. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Quartered shield design divided by a plain cross into four quadrants, alternating the arms of Castile and Leon. The upper-left and lower-right quadrants each display a turreted castle, symbol of Castile, while the upper-right and lower-left quadrants each bear a passant lion, symbol of Leon. The design is crudely executed in the hammered style typical of 13th-century Castilian meajas, with the devices filling their respective quarters. The strike is uneven across the irregular flan, resulting in partial weakness at the edges. No legend or mint mark appears on the reverse. |
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| Additional information |
The meaja issues of Alfonso X fall directly within the first Granada war, a conflict triggered in 1264 when the Nasrid ruler Muhammad I coordinated a widespread Mudéjar uprising across Castile and Murcia. The crown's finances were under severe pressure throughout, and billon fractional coinage of this weight class was struck to meet immediate transactional demand in a kingdom simultaneously fighting on multiple fronts and absorbing the costs of the Reconquista's administrative consolidation.
AB#247 is among the more difficult Alfonso X fractions to attribute cleanly given the absence of a mint mark.