Talk:Gibraltar real

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Apart from the three coins listed and the fact that 24 quarts = 1 real (all gleaned from Krause-Mischler), I know nothing more about this currency. Was the real equal to the Spanish real (de plata or de vellon)? What was the exchange rate to sterling?
Dove1950 14:34, 21 December 2005 (UTC)

I think I may have found the answer to my own question. Two facts: the 1 quart shares its obverse with the Jersey 1/52 shilling [1], i.e., the quart is essentially farthing sized, and the Spanish dollar or 8 reales coin circulated at four shillings in Jamaica and Mauritus (see Jamaican pound and Mauritian dollar). Four shillings divided by eight gives 1 real = 6 pence and 1/24 real = 1 farthing. This strongly suggests that the quart was, in fact, simply a Gibraltar farthing and that the relationship to the real was based on what the British government decreed the Spanish dollar to be worth in sterling. The question which now remains is, can anyone back up this hypothesis?
Dove1950 12:22, 22 December 2005 (UTC)

More info

Hi, I'm from Gibraltar and I collect some of these coins. I know that 1 quart was equal to a quarter of a Spanish real (hence the name quarto or quart) and ¹/24 of a Gibraltarian real. Halves and doubles were also struck, and were equal to a farthing and a penny respectively. --Chris Buttigieg 21:19, 2 November 2006 (UTC)

Nice to see someone taking an interest. Which Spanish real do you mean? The real de plata or the real de vellon? Also, where do you get the equivalency with sterling from? As I wrote above, the quart appears to match the size of the farthing rather than the halfpenny. One more thing, you mention the "Gibralar real". I know that's the title of this article but do you have any evindence for the existence of this unit, either in acounting or in actual money form? I can only find it refered to in relation to the quart.
Dove1950 15:33, 3 November 2006 (UTC)

I believe that copper quartos were struck in the early 19th century in Barcelona and Catalonia (during the French occupation) and this same denomination was also used as from 1802 in Gibraltar as tokens (i.e. quartos) It was later abbreviated to quart in 1842. I remember reading from in an old coin catalogue that 1 quart was equal to a quarter of a Spanish real, however I am unaware of which real this was, either plata or vellon. I can pressume that it might be the real de vellon in view of the fact that this real was introduced in 1808. However on the other hand merchant tokens first started appearing in 1802 which is somewhat contradictory. The 1 quart coin is identical in size to a british farthing, yet I think it should be equal a halfpenny. I thought that it was known as the 'Gibraltarian real' when I saw the title of the article, I hadn't heard the name before. I've tried to look into this topic in books, internet etc but there's hardly any information. I checked in the Garrison Library in Gib (the place where I expected to be most information), but there didn't seem to be anything regarding coinage specifically in Gibraltar. Maybe I should check out any books about merchants in the early 19th century. Many thanks, --Chris Buttigieg 23:15, 4 November 2006 (UTC)

Damn, I've been waiting for someone to go to the Gibraltar records in the hope that they'd find the answer. A big thank you for trying that, though. The Catalan quarto was worth one sixth of a real de vellon in Catalunya, not a quarter (it was a quarter sueldo, one twenty-fourth of a peseta). The name "Gibraltarian real" comes from a note in the "Standard Catalog of World Coins" by Krause & Mishler that there were 24 quartos to the real (again without stating which real). If your numbers are right, it values the real de plata at 5 pence sterling, which is close to the value used elswhere of 6 pence. The only question is why a coin the same size as a farthing would circulate as a halfpenny in Gibraltar?
Dove1950 21:58, 5 November 2006 (UTC)

A new source

I recently found an old book with a lengthy article about Gibraltar's coinage. I have extracted what I think is most relevant for this topic:

An attempt to remove the currency problem was made in 1842, when Gibraltar issued its own copper coins. A second application by the Governor in 1841 for authority to mint coins for Gibraltar was approved. Three denominations were struck: half quart, quart and two quarts. Proofs were produced by the Royal Mint that year and the coins were issued the following year and dated 1842.

The obverse of these coins bore the head of Queen victoria, and the reverse, the Castle and Key and the denomination. The numbers minted were, 48,384 two quart coins (with a value of $504), 96,768 quart coins (with a value of $504) and 387,072 half quarts (with a value of $1,008). The total value of the coins issued was $2,016 or £436"16"0. The soldiers could now be paid with coins which bore the denomination quart and there would be no further confusion between four quarts and a penny, which in gibraltar had the value of 3.69 quarts.

The following are key sentences which I believe will also be useful:

The introduction of the new Gibraltar quarts did not lead to the withdrawal of other copper coins. The reason for this was that traders especially those who dealt with the poorer classes, had amassed large accuumulations of copper coins.

The amound of copper coins in Gibraltar was therefore in excess of the needs of the community. It was found that one baker had accumulated $5,000 in copper coins!

Although there was therefore no point in minting more quarts, as they would never have supplanted the other copper coins which were not being taken out of circulation, there were further proofs struck: one and two quarts in 1860, and half, one and two quarts, in 1861. There was no futher issue of Gibraltar quarts, nor were any more Gibraltar coins issued for general circulation until 1988.

Apparently, it wasn't until 1898 that sterling became the official Gibraltar currency. In the 18th century Gibraltar's currency was based on the Spanish silver dollar and though given the same names, the subdivision of the dollar did not have the same value in Spain and Gibraltar. Most of the article deals with coinage in a 18th and 19th century, however, I wasn't sure what would be most revevant. Until 1898 a curious combination of Spanish currency with Gibraltarian variations had been current in the 18th and 19th centuries. The article encompassed too much information which I could convey here, therefore I think I would be best if you pointed out anything which you think I may find in the book and would be relevant. (It also has the different values given to Spanish coins in Gibraltar in the mid-18th century.)

The article does not mention the name 'Gibraltarian Real' instead refers to it as 'the 1842 quarts' or the '1842 issue'. I was thinking that perhaps it would be better to change the (wiki) article to an article about the history of gibraltar coinage in order to encompass a wider aspect, as opposed to what we have now. --Chris Buttigieg 10:56, 3 January 2007 (UTC)

That's fantastic. Could you add the name of the book so I can try and get hold of a copy? In general, we've broken up discussions about currencies of a particular place into individual articles for each currency. If Gibraltar was using the Spanish real before and while the quart coins were in circulation then this article is the place to put everthing you can glean from your book. An article Gibraltarian coinage would be reserved for a discussion of the coins alone, not their relationships to other currencies.
As to further information, what was the basis for the exchange rate of 3.69 quarts to the penny? It appears to be a rating for the Spanish dollar of 4s4d.
When it says that "the subdivision of the dollar did not have the same value in Spain and Gibraltar", what are the details?
From the numbers you quote, 24 quarts = 1 real de plata. Does the book specifically state this or was the situation more complex?
It says "there would be no further confusion between four quarts and a penny". How had this confusion arisen in the past?
I'm sure I'll think of more.

Dove1950 13:51, 3 January 2007 (UTC)

The book is the annual Gibraltar Heritage Journal (Isuue No 2. Published in 1994) The chapter is titled The Currency and Coinage of Gibraltar in the 18th and 19th centuries by Richard Garcia (he is Registrar of Births, Deaths, and Marriages and Deputy Registrar of the Supreme Court of Gibraltar. He's a well know historian here in Gib and has published various books on Gibraltar's social history and philately.)

As per your questions:

The subdivision of the dollar did not have the same value in Spain and Gibraltar etc

The real was either a 'real de plata' (silver real) or 'real de vellon'. Vellon was an amalgram of silver and copper and one silver real was worth 2 to 2 1/2 reales de vellon, but in Gibraltar no distinction was made between one and the other.

A reason for this can be traced back to the early years of British Gibraltar. in 1727 it was found that the regimental officers had created the fiction, for their own profit that in Gibraltar, a real was a real, regardless of whether it was silver or vellon. .......... the soldiers were being in effect cheated of almost 40% of their pay! After the 1727 Seige, Colonel John Guise of the 1st Guards insisted that his officers give back to the soldiers who survived, the 40% they they had in that was deducted from their wages.

A Governor's Order of 1741 laid laid down that the value of the peso fuerte in Gibraltar was to be 10 reales or reales de vellon and this maintained the fictional value of the real in Gibraltar.While in Spain the peso fuerte was worth about 8 silver reales.

As the hard dollar could be bought for less reales de vellon in Gibraltar than in Spain there was a tendency for dollars to be exported from Gibraltar to Spain. [They decided to punch a hole in the shape of a heart and metal weighing one penny should be removed]

The different values given to Spanish coins in Gibraltar in the mid-18th century was the following:

real de vellon = 16 quartos in Gibraltar and 8 ½ quartos in Spain | current dollar = 8 reales de vellon / 128 quartos in Gib and 15 reales de vellon / 127 ½ quartos (but taken as 128) in Spain | hard dollar (peso fuerte) = 10 reales de vellon in Gib and 20 reales de vellon in Spain.

There would be no further confusion between four quarts and a penny

In 1825:

the British government decided that that the duties and revenue accounts in Gibraltar should be kept in sterling instead of Spanish currency, as had been the practice until then. The order of the Council of 1825 made sterling coins legal tender for Spanish currency in Gibraltar. There was therefore a need to establish an official rate at which the Spanish hard dollar would be valued in Gibraltar to satisfy demands and debts. The rate chosen was 4"4, ie. four shilling and fourpence were required to pay a bill of $1.

This measure to introduce sterling coinage into Gibraltar did not work because the Spanish dollar in Gibraltar never reached the high value of 4"4. The sterling coins were then returned to England and the local currency problems still remained.

Basically, the artificial exchange rate created problems for the troops. They were paid in sterling copper, ie. 1/4d, 1/2d and 1d at the rate of 4/4 for a $1. the copper coins did not have the value in Gibraltar that they had in Britain. The standard Gib coin was the quarto, so British coins were assigned a value in quartos. The farthing was the same size the merchant's quarto and was therefore assigned the same value even though the quarto was worth one 1/12 of a farthing. The pay sergeants did not like working in fractions so they adopted a rate of four shillings (4/-) for one dollar which made the farthing equal to one quarto. Although the soldiers received their pay in sterling coins they were in fact paid in local currency. If they were due to receive twelve pence (44 quartos) they would be given eleven penny coins, as each penny was deemed to be worth four quartos. Try convincing the ordinary soldier that eleven pennies was actually worth one shilling in Gibraltar! He would argue until he was blue in the face that a shilling always consisted of twelve pence and he would clamour for the missing penny which he had not received. --Chris Buttigieg 15:21, 3 January 2007 (UTC)

Right, let's try and put this together. In Spain, there were 8½ quartos to the real de vellon. This means that the quarto was worth 4 maravedi, hence the name comes from the Spanish for four, not a quarter. Is that mentioned in the book? Before 1825, the rates in Gibraltar were 16 quartos = 1 real, 8 reales = 1 current dollar, 10 reales = 1 hard dollar with no allowance for the difference between the real de plata and the real de vellon. The rates were changed in 1825 to 24 quartos = 1 real de plata, 8 reales de plata = 1 hard dollar with the hard dollar equal to 4s4d. That set the shilling to 44 4⁄13, rounded down to 44. Without the rounding, one quarto was worth 1 1⁄12 farthings. Does that sound like a reasonable summary. If so, I'll put something like that in the article to set the ball rolling.
Dove1950 23:10, 3 January 2007 (UTC)

The summary is excellent, and really sums it all up. Thanks for everything  ;) --Chris Buttigieg 12:50, 6 January 2007 (UTC)

Gibraltar 10 reales 1808 coin or token

I am an English coin collector and dealer. I have a Gibraltar 10 reales 1808 coin or token in vellon, or base metal with a small silver content. I understand that 10 reales was the value used in Gibraltar early in the 19th century for the Spanish so-called 'peso fuerte' or 8 reales silver coin (also known as a piece of eight or Spanish dollar). The reverse of the coin has a figure of a seated Britannia with her right arm outstretched and pointing at Gibraltar in the background with the inscription Gibraltar 1808 above, 10 R to the right, and a key in the exergue. The obverse has a laureate bust of George III with the inscription Georgius III Dei Gratia Rex. The obverse is also countermarked with a portcullis (similar to countermarks used on earlier English coins) on the shoulder of George III. I know that this coin was reproduced in a variety of metals by a company called INA in 1977, so presumably INA (which now seems defunct) worked from a 19th Century original. I also know that European coins were countermarked widely for use in the West Indies during the Napoleonic Wars. I have searched the Internet exhaustively, but learned nothing. Can anyone help? I can provide good pictures of both sides. Beaunic (talk) — Preceding undated comment added 15:34, 10 August 2015 (UTC)