The Carlinas of Navarre by Sancho Iturbide

I haven't published any new entries lately, I've been a bit lazy or more than lazy about the many problems and headaches, I've had a hard time focusing on the vast amount of material I'm working on. Actually, I've been researching the coins of the Prince of Viana, but while I was doing that, another anecdote has directed my work.

Don Johan por la gra de Dios Rey de Navarre Infant d'Aragon y de Sicillia Duch de Nemours de Gandia de Montblanc de Peinafiel Comte de Ribagorca y Senyor dla Ciudat de Balaguer. And Donablanca by the same woman Queen of Navarre owns the heiress. duchess of the right kingdom, duchess of the right ducats, countess of the right counties and lady of the right side of Balaguer, a beloved and faithful counselor and listener of our accounts Sancho Iturbide.

This is how the coinage law written on January 10, 1432 begins. While I was studying the silver law that the gros coins of the Prince of Viana could have had, the book “Moneda Medieval Navarra” by Ibañez Artica showed me the location of the last coinage law of King Juan and Queen Blanca. The document is kept in the General Archive of Navarre, in box 132, first section, document VII.

I am far from Pamplona, very far away and with no prospect of passing through there soon. Today, would it be possible for a Basque living abroad like me to look at a 15th century document kept in the Pamplona archive? I decided to send an email to the archive, it doesn't cost anything to ask.

A friendly employee at the Archive responded immediately, not only making it possible, but also making it easy for me, and after a small payment, I was able to download the coin order in a high-resolution image, via the internet.

I stared at the order, at first I didn't understand a word. After looking at it again and again I started to understand some words. Over the days my eyes trained, I understood more and more. Miriam from the Archive of Navarra offered me great help, with some words that were incomprehensible to me. Thank you very much!

Even today, I still don't fully decipher the meaning of some words, or at least I'm not entirely sure. In the following, these words will appear in red... it's clear that I'm not an expert on the Middle Ages, but I still think we'll understand the following coinage law well.

Courtesy of the Royal Archives of Navarre – AGN, CO DOCS.,Caj. 132, n.1.7

Hello, let us know that in the house of the Moneda that we are doing something strange in Pamplona assabeer en la casa nombrada ntra torre en la dcha ciruat noa (i.e., there is none) teacher some para bater la dca coin. Et por so much cease la obra dla dca moneda en la dca casa en dtrmto ntro y danyo de nto reino het por quanto somos certificates that you can serve us in one coin. Etvos we are prayer and in charge of you you are welcome to take charge of the dca house of the currency, we have ordered and deliberated with deliberacion delos de los delos de ntro conseio of one silver coin that are named carlines of Navarre and baldra la piece dos sueldos fuertes.

Sancho Iturbide, advisor to the king and queen and judge of the Chamber of Accounts, received the order to begin minting coins. The mint in the city of Pamplona, known as the Royal Tower, did not have a mintmaster at the beginning of 1432.

The 15th-century Royal Tower Mint was located in the Plaza de San Francisco de Xavier, on the site of the building that currently houses the San Francisco Public School – Wikipedia Commons.

The coins of Navarre were minted here throughout the 15th century, until Charles IV of Navarre demolished the building in 1524 and moved the mint and treasury to its current location.

This situation is not entirely surprising, since this coinage law of early 1432 was the sixth to be issued since 1428. The five previous laws issued at the beginning of the reign of Queen Blanche and Queen Juan had only succeeded in enacting the silver law of the blank or white coins.

Blanka or white coin of King and Queen Juan, minted under the protection of the First and Fifth Coinage Laws – 2.75gr

FIND: I:Z:B:DEI:GRA:REX:Z:RGA:NAVARRE

INFRENZU: SIT*NOMEN*DOMINI*BENEDICTVM

1428. urteko maiatzak 10.ean emandako lehen legeak %45,83-ko zilar zilegitasuna ematen zien erresumako blanka edo grosei. Zilegitasun hau % 14,58-ra jaitsia zen dagoeneko, bostgarren legea 1430. urteko irailaren 2.an kaleratu zenean. Bi urte pasatxoren buruan, blanka edo grosek bere baitan zuten zilarraren %70 galdu zuten, merkatuan zuten balioa bi sueldotan mantentzen zen bitartean. Gogoratu, garaiko baliokidetasunen arabera sueldo bakoitzak, hamabi diru karlino edo sei kornadutako balioa zuela.

Behind this deception by the royal court were the Castilian interests of the foreign king Juan. Juan, who was a prince of Aragon by title, was in fact the fruit of a branch of the Castilian Trastamara family. This branch, headed by Juan's father, Ferdinand I of Antequera, had obtained the crown of Aragon. While Juan's older brother, Alfonso V, inherited the crown of Aragon, Juan inherited all the Castilian fiefs and interests of the family and, as a result, he was deeply involved in all the internal conflicts and battles that were taking place in the Kingdom of Castile. As a result of these conflicts, the Kingdom of Navarre was embroiled in a war against the Kingdom of Castile between 1429 and 1430. Wars are expensive and kings have to put their hands in the pockets of their subjects and citizens to finance them; this was also the case here.

Blanka hauen merkatu balioa mantentzea ezinezkoa zen, atzerrian inork ez zituen haien balio nominalean onartzen eta azkenik ere, 1431. urtearen abuztuan, txanpon hauen balioa bederatzi diru karlinoetara murrizten zuen agindua kaleratu zen. Hau %62,5-eko balio galtzea zen, eta ondorioz, zilarrezko txanpon sendorik gabe gelditu zen erresuma. Txanpon berriak egin beharrean ziren eta txanpon hauek izena ere, berria behar zuten. Aurreko gros edo blanka izenpean izendatu ordez, ziur aski hauek oso ospe txarra bait zuten dagoeneko, txanpon berriak „Karlin“ izenpean ezagutaraztea erabaki zen.

Karlin of King Blanche and Queen Juan, minted under the protection of the Sixth Coinage Law – 2.61gr – Wide base of the crown

FIND: I:Z:B:DEI:GRA:REX:Z:RGA:NAVARRE

INFRENZU: SIT:NOMEN:DOMINI:BENEDICTVM

The qoal dca moneda will be de ley de quinquo diners y dizeocho granos argent le Roy y de seis sueldos oco diners de talla. And trust from you we want loyalty and diligence that los batades suffocation one by one subarengado en ntra dca casa dela tore la dca moneda la qoal batuedes sin remedio y saldrá de marco de plata de doze diners de ley argent le Roy setze libras treze sueldos diez diners. Delos quoals daréis alos mercaderos ofornydors que traigan plata a ntra casa dla moneda por each marco de plata de XII D. de ley argent le Roy que avos seva deliberada quinze libras dla dca moneda comptada la piece en dos sueldos como dco es. And you answer and you dare to wait for us in the house of the coin of all the silver that you work for the merchandise ofornydors. It is clear. por el señorage dizeocho sueldos dla dca moneda. Et lo sobreplus que saliera de dco marco de plata or salary sea glass and mirrors el dco Sancho, lo quoal abredes por bracaje y todos costages.

Benetan mamitxua da goiko pasartea, garaiko txanponetxe baten funtzionamendua garbi erakusten bait du. Lehenik eta behin, zilarrezko txanpona indarberritu eta prestigiatu beharra zen eta izen berria eman ondoren, lehenengo legeak erabilitako zilegitasun antzekoa berrezarri zen. Egia esan, lehenengo legearen zilegitasuna baino zertxobait haundiagoa berrezarri zen. Lehenengo legeak %45,83-ko zilegitasuna, hau da bost diru eta hamabi granotako zilegitasuna ezartzen bazuen, honako honetan %47,92 edo bost diru eta hemezortzi granotako zilegitasuna ezarri zen. Diru eta granoen zilegitasun baliokidetasunari buruz weight and law of Basque coins We talked at the entrance.

The text of the law then states that the minting of carlins should be six sueldos and eight dirhas. In this case, this reference to sueldos and dirhas does not have any meaning regarding the value of the coins, but rather indicates the number of coin units that should be produced from each mark of silver alloy that was ready for minting after mixing with copper. Each sueldos represents the equivalent of twelve coins and each dirhas the equivalent of one coin. Therefore, it is indicated that 6×12+8=80 carlin coins had to be minted for each mark of minting. This data allows us to know the nominal weight of the carlins. The reference mark weight used by the Kingdom of Navarre for coinage could have been 244.75 gr of the Troyes mark or 248 gr of the Pamplona mark. In the first case, carlins with a nominal weight of around 3.06 gr and in the second case 3.1 gr would have been produced. In both cases, the values are quite similar, although the weight of the coins that have survived to our days is usually below these values.

Ondorenean, txanponketa legeak zilar puru marko bakoitzetik irten beharreko diru kopurua adierazten du. Ikus dezagun ea garaiko kalkuloak zehatzak ziren. Zilar puru marko bakoitzak, %47,92-ko zilegitasuna zuten 166,94 karlinen lanketa ahalbidetuko zuen. Karlin bakoitzak bi sueldotako, hau da hogeitalau dirutako balioa zuela kontutan hartuz, zilar puru marko bakoitzak 4006,67 dirutako balioa zuen karlin txanpon masa merkaturatzea ahalbidetuko zuen. 4006,67 diru hauek libra, sueldo eta dirutara pasa ezkero (gogoratu, libera batek hogei sueldo, eta sueldo batek hamabi dirutako baliokidetasuna zuela sistema karolingiarrean), honek 16 libera, 13 sueldo eta 10 diru emango lizkiguke, txanponketa legeak adierazitako kopuru zehatza. Ez zen hemen, tolerantziarik edo erremediorik, hemen edo handik kopuru guzti hauek azaldu beharrean ziren landutako zilar marko garbi bakoitzeko.

Of the 16 pounds, 13 shillings and 10 dirhams mentioned above, 15 pounds of silver were to be used to pay the merchants. The royal court, in the form of a coinage tax, or in other words, “senyorage”, took another 18 shillings. The rest, that is, 15 shillings and 10 dirhams, remained in the hands of Sancho Iturbide. With this income, he had to pay for the tools, dies, stacks and workers necessary for the coinage; the profits also had to be somewhere, since no one deals for nothing.

Karlin of King Blanche and Queen Juan, minted under the protection of the Sixth Coinage Law – 3.06gr – Narrow base of the crown

FIND: I:Z:B:DEI:GRA:REX:Z:RGA:NAVARRE

FRENCH: IT:NOMEN:DOMINI:BENEDICTVM (Here the engraver forgot the initial Sa)

These Carlins mentioned should be the memorable coins shown in the two previous images. On the obverse, they present a cross surrounded by six lilies and a double fringed border. On the reverse, they present the image of the royal crown. Two variants of this crown are known, one depicting a narrow or short base of the crown and the other a crown with a wider base.

In addition to the carlin coins of the sixth law, which Sancho Iturbid elaborated in the royal tower, the mintmaster Bernart Lonjuhac also received the royalties for the production of carlins, in this case in the mint factories located on the main street of the town of San Cernín. Two mintmasters, two mints; it is possible that the two different variations in the width of the crown reflect the characteristic that distinguishes the two mints.

We do not know which mint each crown belongs to and we have no information about the number of carlins minted. But we do know that we are facing the last silver coin model minted during the reign of Queen Blanche and King John. Later we will have new models of the Prince of Viana and John, the sole usurper king.

Assy mesmo queremos q. dla mesma ley de qinquo diners deziocho granos batades y fagades one medios carlines q sean of the size of thirteen salaries quoatro diners por los quoales daredes y responderes anos por el señorage y alos mercadoros y fornidors al respecto and porn sobra dchos y valdrá la pieca doce diners.

The silver law of the half carlin was the same as that of the whole carlin, namely % 47.92. The carving was however double, and as a result the weight of the half carlin was half that of the whole carlin. For each mark of work, 160 half carlin pieces had to be produced, which, depending on the mark used, would give us a nominal weight of 1.53gr (Troyes mark) or 1.55gr (Pamplona mark). The value of these half carlins was one seulement or, what was the same, twelve dirhams. The price of each silver mark payable to the merchants was again 15 pounds, the king's coinage tax or "seignorage" was 18 seulements and therefore, here too the mintmaster had a margin of 15 seulements and 10 dirhams.

The margin allowed by the royal court for each mark minted was the same as that for whole carlins, but in the case of half carlins, twice as many coins had to be minted to achieve this profit. Double the number of coins meant double or even greater minting time and costs, and as a result, profits were much lower. Mints and their mintmasters tried to maximize profits, and as a result, the number of blanks, carlins or half gros minted was often much lower than the number of whole blanks. As a reference, under the first law, between July 1428 and November 1429, 605,260 whole blanks were minted, but only 39,718 half blanks.

The number of blanks or half gros that have survived to this day is much smaller than the full-sized version of their larger counterparts. In the case of half carlins, we do not have any known examples today and consequently we do not know whether any number of the half carlins mentioned in this sixth law were minted. If they had been minted, these half carlins would surely have had a similar image to the full carlins. Here is one of the few half blanks from the first and fifth coinage laws that have survived to this day:

Blank or white half of King and Queen Blanka and Queen Juan, minted under the protection of the First and Fifth Coinage Laws – 1.55gr

FIND: IOHANES:Z:B:DEI:GRACIA

FRANCE: REX:Z:RGNA:NAVARRE

Before finishing with the carlins, one last detail. Although these coins were named carlin in this sixth coinage law, in subsequent documents and writings only the reference to blanka and gros appears... the name of the carlin coins did not survive.

Other queremos q batades y faguades bat cornados q sean a ley de un dinero y ocho granos y abeinte sueldos de talla. And medios cornados that are according to the law of XVIII grains and a XXV sueldos of talla and baldra the piece of dcos cornados two diners and the piece of delos dcos medios cornados one diner. Et desto daredes alos mercaderos or purnidores dla dca moneda por sueldo deley fifteen libras y anos por el señoraje fifteen sueldos. Et lo sobreplus q quedare del dco sueldo deley sera para vos el dco Sancho por bracajes y todos costag es.

This passage gives details of the minting of the cornado and the half cornado. The half cornado took over the role that the Carlin coins had played until the previous reign, as explained by the coinage law, that is, the value of the half cornado was equal to one penny. But the whole cornado will be the basis of the Navarrese monetary system from this reign onwards. And it will only lose this role in the second half of the 17th century, with the addition of the maravedia.

Kornado hauen balioa, bi dirutakoa zen. Bere zilar edukiera diru bat eta zortzi granotan finkatu zen lege honetan, %11,11 edo 111,1 milesimetan alegia. Zilar edukiera hau kornadoa sortu zuen 1428. urteko lehen legeak ezarritakoaren berbera zen, baina lehen legeak 18 sueldotako taila agintzen zuen bitartean lege honek 20 sueldotako taila ezartzen zuen. Taila honen arabera, kobre eta zilar aleazioaz osatutako lanketa marko bakoitzeko 240 kornado atera behar ziren. Honek, lehen ikusi dugunaren arabera, 1,02gr edo 1,03gr inguruko pisu nominala emango lioke kornadori.

The cornados made under the sixth law can be distinguished quite clearly. In the case of these cornados, the ifrenzu presents six double fringed borders around the cross. Here are two examples of these cornados:

Cornado of King Blanche and Queen Juan, minted under the protection of the Sixth Coinage Law – 0.78gr

FIND: I:Z:B:RE:Z:RGNA

FRANCE: NAVARRE

Another Kornado coin of King Blanka and Queen Juan minted under the protection of the Sixth Coinage Law – 1.00gr – Courtesy of Andres Onieva

FIND: I:Z:B:RE:Z:RGNA

FRANCE: NAVARRE

The cornados produced under the law of previous years do not have a fringed edge:

A Cornado coin of King Blanche and Queen Juan, minted under the protection of the first and fifth coinage laws – 0.70gr

FIND: I:Z:B:REX:Z:RGNA

FRANCE: NAVARRE

In the case of half cornados, a silver content of eighteen grains would give us a number of %6.25 or 62.5 thousandths. Regarding the carving, a carving of 25 sueldos indicates that 300 half cornados had to be produced per frame of work. This, according to what we have seen before, would give a nominal weight of around 0.815gr or 0.826gr for the half cornado.

In the case of half-cornered coins, we do not have any known examples of coins with a fringed edge on the obverse. Therefore, we do not have any half-cornered coins that we can directly compare with the sixth coinage law. When classifying half-cornered coins, a distinction is usually made between those with a large and small crown:

Half a Kornado of King Blanche and Queen Juan – 0.65gr – Variant of the Great Crown

FIND: REX:Z:RGNA

FRANCE: NAVARRE

Half a Kornado coin of King Blanche and Queen Juan – 0.54gr – Small Crown variant

FIND: REX:Z:RGNA

FRANCE: NAVARRE

As we have seen, in the case of the production of cornados and half cornados, as in the production of carlins and half carlins, the silversmiths received a remuneration of 15 pounds per silver mark. But the royal coinage tax or “seignorage” was reduced to fifteen shillings instead of eighteen shillings seen in the previous case. What, then, was the margin obtained in the production of cornados and half cornados?

%11,11-ko zilar edukiera zuten 240 kornado lantzen ziren lanketa marko bakoitzeko. Horrenbestez zilar marko garbi batek, 2160,21 kornadoren lanketa ahalbidetzen zuen, 4320,43 dirutako merkatu balioarekin. Diru hauek libratara pasa ezkero, 18 libra zehatz irtetzen dira. Merkatariei eman beharreko 15 librak eta erregetxeari eman beharreko 15 sueldoak kendu ondoren, 2 libra eta 5 sueldotako marjina ateratzen zen.

In the case of half-cornados, 300 half-cornados with a silver content of %6.25 were produced per mark of production. Therefore, a pure silver mark allowed the production of 4800 half-cornados, with a market value of 4800 dirhams. If these monies are converted into pounds, exactly 20 pounds are obtained. After deducting the 15 pounds to be paid to the merchants and the 15 shillings to be paid to the royal court, a margin of 4 pounds and 5 shillings was obtained.

As can be seen, the margins increase (except in the case of half carlins) as we move towards smaller coins, but while in the case of carlins around 167 carlins had to be minted (334 in the case of half carlins), in the case of cornados 2160 pieces and in the half cornado 4800 pieces had to be minted. The necessary minting time and the resulting costs (wages) and expenses related to minting (the necessary stacks and dies, tools, fuel, etc.) were much greater in the case of small coins, and therefore the profits were probably also lower.

We send you that the dca silver coin nobrada carlines and medios carlines and the dcos cornados and medios cornados the batades and begonias bat y monedar ala ley y talla y porla forma disuso dca q an abat la dca moneda grossa y menuda en ntra dca casa dla tore. Et afazer todas las casas sobre dcas we give attoridat y poder complido y mandamyto espal (special?) porcelain tiles Por las quoales we sent alos sobre dichos guarda and contraguarda por nos puestos en nta dca casa dla moneda alos obreros monederos and otros officil dla dca casa y aquoaleswants otros officl y subditos ntros q los permitat la dca moneda et en facer todas las cosas sobre dchas vos obedezcan y vos den confort facer y ayuda en lo q por vos les fora demandedado. And in testimony of this abemos madado sellar las prntes de ntro sello dla chancl. Dada en nta villa de Taffalla a X días de mes Genero lanyo de nascmto de nto sr MCCCCXXXII. El Rey Juhan y Blanqua por el rey et porla Reyna, pd Ball

Bibliography:

Catalog general de la moneda de Navarre – Ricardo Ros Arrogante – 2013 – Altaffaylla publishing house

MEDIEVAL NAVARRA COIN – Numismatic Manual – Miguel Ibañez Artica – 2021

Coin of the Basque Country – Pablo María Beitia Arejolaleiba – 2018

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