Alfonso X's monetary reforms of 1281 were born of fiscal desperation. Decades of war expenditure, failed attempts to claim the Holy Roman Imperial throne, and chronic debasement of earlier issues had gutted Castilian monetary credibility. The meaja — half a dinero negro — was among the lowest denominations produced under the reorganization that year, struck at Murcia following its incorporation into the Castilian monetary system after the city's Mudéjar revolt of 1264 had been suppressed with Aragonese help.
Billon this thin and light survives poorly. Most examples show significant wear from even brief circulation.
Alfonso X's monetary reforms of 1281 were born of fiscal desperation. Decades of war expenditure, failed attempts to claim the Holy Roman Imperial throne, and chronic debasement of earlier issues had gutted Castilian monetary credibility. The meaja — half a dinero negro — was among the lowest denominations produced under the reorganization that year, struck at Murcia following its incorporation into the Castilian monetary system after the city's Mudéjar revolt of 1264 had been suppressed with Aragonese help.
Billon this thin and light survives poorly. Most examples show significant wear from even brief circulation.