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"Spanish
Cob"
Carlos and Johanna ~ 1536-1555
Obverse: Crowned
coat of arms with lions and castles enclosed, assayer and mint marks on
sides, legend around rim.
Reverse: Crowned pillars of Hercules with one dot in center to
indicate denomination, legend for "PLUS ULTRA" below dot, legend around
rim.
Carlos was the son of Philip I, king of Castile and Johanna the Mad.
Johanna was the third child of Ferdinand and Isabella and succeeded to
the throne upon the death of her father in 1516. Due to
Johanna's mental illness Carlos was formally recognized as king
cojointly with his mother in 1518; therefore she never was effectively
involved in the rule of Spain. Johanna died in 1555.
Carlos ruled as both Carlos I King of Spain and Carlos V, Holy Roman
Emperor. He maintained un untiring interest in Spain's New World
possessions and worked tirelessly to encourage the expansion of New
Spain. Also, he strove for establishment of better relations
between the natives and their conquerors in the recently acquired lands
of Peru and Mexico. The gold from the ladies did not add up to any
sizable sum at this time and the spiraling debt brought on by the
increasing expenses of war and expansion had reached 7,000,000 livres by
1556. It was in 1550 that 17 Spanish ships arrived, providing the
king with 3,000,000 ducats and some measure of financial relief.
During the reign of Carlos and Johanna the first mint in New Spain was
established in Mexico City in 1536. Silver coinage was initially
authorized in denominations of 3, 2, 1, 1/2 and 1/4 reales. Later
in 1537 a 4 reales denomination was authorized.
Carlos married Isabella, daughter of Emanuel, King of Portugal, by whom
he had a son and two daughters. In 1556 he abdicated in favor of
his son Philip. He died in September 1558 at the monastery of
Yuste. |
