Item number: A351

Year: AD 1841

Material: Silver

Size: 24 x 24 mm

Provenance: Fuchin Coin 2024

This item is a Spain Charles III 2 reales with a countermark, circulated in Cuba after AD 1841. The obverse of the coin features a right-facing bust of Charles III, encircled by a Latin inscription “CAROLUS III·DEI·G·1806,” which translates to “Charles III by the grace of God,” “1806” indicates that this coin was originally minted in AD 1806. Below the face, there is a lattice countermark described in official decrees as “a small square with two lines on each side.” On the reverse side, the coin displays the coat of arms of Castile and León, combining the traditional symbols of Castile (a yellow castle) and León (a purple lion), topped with a royal crown. Surrounding the coat of arms is a Latin legend “HISPANIARUM·REX,” which translates to “King of the Spaniards.” The left side of the coin bears the mark “RM,” signifying the Royal Mint of Spain located in Madrid. On the opposite side is the mark “FA,” representing the mint officials Francisco Herrera and Antonio Goicoechea, with the numeral “2” above “FA” indicating the coin’s denomination as 2 reales. The 2 reales coinage featured four varieties: Charles III, Charles IV, Ferdinand VII, and Joseph Napoleon.

Cuba came under Spanish control after AD 1492 with the arrival of Christopher Columbus. By the mid-19th century, most Latin American countries had achieved independence, but they remained heavily indebted to banks and financial houses in Holland and Spain. Consequently, they resorted to illegal gold payments. Cuba became a vital stopover for Americans traveling to Europe; however, the Spanish King had prohibited the export of gold coins to Americans. This illicit gold export altered the gold-to-silver ratio (from 1:16 to 1:17), prompting foreign debt holders to use silver for repayment, leading to increased demand for silver in the US and France.

Silver, remaining in Cuba, became highly coveted, prompting other countries like the US to employ methods such as countermarking or melting silver to make it legal tender in their own territories. To address the shortage of coinage, Cuba began importing silver coins from Spain, its motherland, as it was forbidden to accept American coins. Spain was displeased by this silver outflow. Eventually, despite the government’s prohibition on importing pesetas sevillanas (coins minted in Spain), it had to acknowledge the substantial number of these coins already circulating on the island.

On March 22, AD 1841, authorization was granted for countermarking, and those possessing these coins had nine days to submit them for the countermarking process. The protocol for executing the countermarking on coins was approved on May 30, with the actual process occurring in September AD 1841. These countermarked coins became standard in Cuba as they resembled the columnarias minted in the colonies and were widely accepted by the public. 

物件編號: A351

年代: 公元 1841 年

材料: 銀

尺寸: 24 x 24 mm

來源: 福君錢幣 2024

這枚物品是一枚西班牙卡洛斯三世的2里爾硬幣，帶有一個刻印，於公元1841年後在古巴流通。硬幣正面為面向右方的卡洛斯三世半身像，周圍環繞著拉丁文銘文「CAROLUS III·DEI·G·1806」，意為「蒙上帝之恩的卡洛斯三世」。「1806」代表此硬幣最初鑄於公元1806年。一個官方法令描述為「每邊有兩條線的小方格」的刻印可見於卡洛斯三世的面部下方。在硬幣的背面，展示了卡斯蒂利亞和莱昂的紋章，結合了卡斯蒂利亞（黃色城堡）和莱昂（紫色獅子）的傳統象徵，頂部有皇冠。紋章周圍是拉丁文銘文「HISPANIARUM·REX」，意為「西班牙人之王」。硬幣的左側有「RM」標記，代表位於馬德里的西班牙皇家造幣廠。在相對的右側，有「FA」標記，代表造幣官員弗朗西斯科·埃雷拉和安東尼奧·戈伊科埃切亞，上方的數字「2」表示此硬幣的面值為2里爾。此種2里爾的硬幣有四種變體：卡洛斯三世、卡洛斯四世、斐迪南七世和約瑟夫·拿破崙。

古巴在公元1492年哥倫布抵達後成為西班牙的控制下。到了19世紀中葉，大多數拉丁美洲國家已經獲得了獨立，但它們仍然深陷荷蘭和西班牙的銀行和金融機構的債務之中。因此，它們不得不以非法途徑交易以償還債務。古巴成為美洲人前往歐洲的重要中途站；然而，西班牙國王禁止向美洲人出口黃金硬幣。這種非法的黃金出口改變了黃金對銀的比例（從1:16到1:17），促使外國債權持有者改用銀來償還債務，進而增加了美國和法國對銀的需求。

留在古巴的銀變得非常珍貴，促使像其他國家，例如美國，採用了將銀刻印或熔煉的方法，使其在自己的領土上成為合法貨幣。為了解決硬幣短缺問題，古巴開始從祖國西班牙進口銀幣，因為他們被禁止接受美洲的硬幣。西班牙對這種銀的流失感到不滿。最終，儘管政府禁止進口塞維利亞比塞塔（西班牙鑄造的硬幣），它不得不承認這些硬幣在島上已經大量流通。

公元1841年3月22日，對刻印的授權被批准，擁有這些硬幣的人有九天時間將其提交進行刻印處理。此執行協議於5月30日獲得批准，實際的刻印過程發生在公元1841年9月。這些經過刻印的硬幣在古巴成為主要的流通貨幣，因為它們類似於殖民地鑄造的硬幣，所以被公眾廣泛接受。