Spanish real
The real (derived from Spanish rey = king) was the currency in Spain for several centuries.
history
Pedro IV of Aragón began minting gold reales in Mallorca in the middle of the 14th century . In Spain since the middle of the 14th century. also minted silver coins with the designation "Real", based on Mallorca and Valencia. The simple reals were minted in large quantities and, at the height of the Spanish Empire, had a considerable share in the European money circulation in the 16th century and partly in the 17th century . In the permanent Spanish economic crisis of the 18th century , a considerable devaluation took place. The peseta was introduced in Spain in 1869 .
The Portuguese real (plural: Réis) was introduced around the same time as the Spanish one, but quickly lost its value and became a copper coin , but remained the basis of calculation.
Silver reals were also minted in the Spanish Netherlands - until the late phase of the Dutch War of Independence .
Real pieces were minted from the rich silver deposits in South America from the 16th century onwards. The best known is probably the coin of 8 reales (German: "Achterstück", English: "Piece of eight"), which weighed around 27 grams and was equivalent to the thaler . Silver coins of 1/2, 1, 2, 4 and 8 reales were common in Central and South America until the end of the 19th century - during colonial times mostly with the likeness of the respective Spanish king, after independence mostly with symbols typical of the country and often the image a so-called freedom cap.
In North America and many other countries such as Sudan , Eritrea , countries of the Indian Ocean and China (mainly 8) real coins were circulating as a means of payment - some of them rededicated by counterstamps . From the end of the 19th century the currency “Real / Reales” was often replaced by country-specific currencies (Sol, Boliviano, Peso, Riyal ...).
Denomination
| Equivalents | |
|---|---|
|
|
|
| 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 | |
See also
Individual evidence
- ↑ Henry Charles Lea: History of the Spanish Inquisition. First volume. European History Publishing House 2012, ISBN 3-8638-2735-X . P. 570 ff.
- ↑ THE COLONIAL COINAGE OF SPANISH AMERICA An Introduction by Daniel Frank Sedwick