Spanish escudo

The Spanish escudo consisted of two different types of coin, on the one hand the gold standard coin until 1833, on the other hand a decimal silver coin that was minted from 1864-68.

Under Charles I.

8 Escudo with the bust of Carlos I.

The Spanish King Carlos I from 1516, as Charles V , was ruler of the Habsburg hereditary lands and German emperor from 1506 . He was particularly heavily indebted to the Fuggers . The Ducado had continued to deteriorate. In 1537 a currency reform was necessary. Instead of the Ducados, which was no longer pronounced but remained as a unit of account, coronas i escudos were to be minted in gold . For the Castilian gold mark of 22 carats (i.e. 11/12 fine) there were 68 escudos, each worth 350 maravedís . With the same weight of the coins, the fineness was reduced by 7½%.

Under Philip II

Silver escudos in its denominations

The value of the escudo was raised to 400 maravedís by decree ( Pragmatica ) of Philip II on November 23, 1566. Larger pieces were now also minted. The double escudo ( doblón ) was called the pistol in Europe and was the model for the Louis d'or . The 8 escudo piece ( onza de oro ) became the most common Spanish gold coin and is known as the doubloon (= 4 pistols). It corresponded to 16 silver peso duro (51.122 g of fine silver), ie two "pieces of eight", which over time, especially after the introduction of machine minting in 1732, became the dominant trade coin in East Asia.

Ref.	designation	metal	Ley (ml)	Peso (g)	Ø (mm)	Coin edge	Displayed	Mint
1	10 escudos	Oro	0.900	8.35	22.00	Ley Patria Rey	1865 y 1868	M S
2	4 escudos	Oro	0.900	3.34	18.00	Estriado	1865 y 1868	M S
3	2 escudos	Oro	0.900	1.67	16.00	Estriado	1865 y 1868	M.
4th	2 escudos	Plata	0.900	26.00	37.00	Ley Patria Rey	1864 y 1868	M.
5	1 escudo	Plata	0.900	13.00	30.00	Ley Patria Rey	1864 y 1868	M.
6th	40 céntimos	Plata	0.810	5.20	23.00	Estriado	1864 y 1868	B M S
7th	20 céntimos	Plata	0.810	2.60	18.00	Estriado	1865 y 1868	M S
8th	10 céntimos	Plata	0.810	1.30	15.00	Estriado	1865 y 1868	M S
9	5 céntimos	Cobre	0.999	12.50	32.00	Liso	1865 y 1868	B M J Sg S
10	2½ céntimos	Cobre	0.999	6.25	25.00	Liso	1865 y 1868	B M J Sg S
11	1 céntimo	Cobre	0.999	2.50	18.00	Liso	1864 y 1868	B M J Sg S
12	½ céntimo	Cobre	0.999	1.25	16.00	Liso	1864 y 1868	B M J Sg S
B = Barcelona M = Madrid J = Jubia Sg = Segovia S = Sevilla

18th century

According to the reform laws of 1728 and 1730, which stipulated, among other things, coins that could not be blended , the fineness of the onza de oro remained at 22 carats.

From 1772 there was a deterioration to 901/1000. On June 25, 1786, a secret instruction was issued that the escudo was only to be minted from 21-carat gold (875/1000); in fact, even worse metal was used: tests show an average of 869.8 / 1000, after 1800 only 864 , 6/1000.

Equivalents
real	Real de vellón
8 escudos	320 real
4 escudos	160 real
2 escudos	80 real
8 real	20 real
4 real ones	10 real
2 real	5 real
1 real	2½ real
1/2 real	1¼ real
8 maravedíes
4 maravedíes
2 maravedíes
1 maravedí

1850 to 1868

The decimal real (de vellón) became the Spanish standard currency in 1850, and the Catalan peseta was converted to a ratio of 1 pta. = 4 reals exchanged. The next currency change took place in 1864 when the new decimal escudo was introduced. 1 escudo = 10 reales = 100 centimos = 1000 millesimas.

As early as 1868, after the first abolition of the monarchy, the Spanish peseta was introduced , with a ratio of 2½ pts. per Escudo. Escudos circulated until 1872.

Individual evidence

↑ Henry Charles Lea: History of the Spanish Inquisition. First volume. European History Publishing House 2012, ISBN 3-8638-2735-X . P. 570

[1] Henry Charles Lea: History of the Spanish Inquisition. First volume. European History Publishing House 2012, ISBN 3-8638-2735-X . P. 570