Glossary

Arms

Insignia of a family or country, containing specific figures and colors and passed along through hereditary lineage.

Avoirdupois

System of weight in English-speaking countries wherein 1 ounce equals 28.35 grams and there are 16 ounces to the pound.

Bendlet                       

Diminutive form of “bend”, a diagonal (upper left to lower right) bar within a coat of arms. Usually signifies bastardy.

Blanca                        

A Spanish coin valued at one-half maravedí.

Bocado                       

Spanish for “bite”, referring to the gouge (or notch) found in assayed bars of silver and gold, the metal from which paid the assayer’s fee.

Bourbon Dynasty       

In Spain, the bloodline succession of the Bourbon Family monarchs from 1700 to the present.

Canton                       

In heraldry, the position of a device usually in the upper right region of the shield.

Cartouche                  

A boxed stamping on ingots, usually containing the monogram of a person, place, or company.

Castellano                  

Old Spanish gold coin-type equivalent to something more than the excelentes and ducados of the time (difficult to determine).

Cédula                        

A decree or order issued by some official authority. A Cédula Real would have originated with the ruling monarch.

Coat-of-arms             

A shield or escutcheon which bears the heraldic designs of a family or nation. Often interchanged with “crest”.

Cob                            

A hand-stamped Spanish colonial coin characterized by an irregular outline (from the Spanish cabo de barra — “end of the bar”).

Corazón                      

Spanish for “heart”, a cob specially carved to look like the Sacred Heart of Christ as issued from the colonial mints at Potosí, Lima, and Mexico City.

Crest                          

In heraldry, anything placed above the shield, but today sometimes used interchangeably with “coat of arms” or “shield”.

Cross Potent              

In heraldry, the bold cross of equal-length arms. Greek Cross.

Cruz Florenzada         

Spanish for “flowered cross”, a cross whose arms are terminated in fleurs-de-lis, stylized or not.

Cuartillo                     

A Spanish or Spanish colonial coin of one-quarter real value.

Cuarto                        

Vernacular (Spanish) for a silver coin of one-quarter real value.

Curvilinear                

Characterized by curved lines, such as the arcs of a tressure.

Denomination            

One of a set of values given to a series of coins, such as dollar, half-dollar, quarter-dollar, etc.

Device                        

In heraldry, an emblem (lion, castle, e.g.) which represents an action or quality and is usually ascribed to a family or nation.

Dos Mundos               

Spanish for “two worlds”, referring to the earliest milled coinage out of the Spanish colonies which bore globes —the Old World and the New— situated between two columns.

Ducado                        

Spanish coin, the counterpart to the gold ducats used throughout Europe. Valued at 11 reales plus 1 maravedí, or 375 maravedíes.

Escudo(s)                   

Spanish for “escutcheon” or “shield”, a denomination series for gold coins of Spanish or Spanish colonial origin, in which the largest coin is valued at 8 escudos, and the lesser pieces are successively one-half the weight of the next greater (i.e. 8, 4, 2, 1, 1/2 and 1/4 escudos).

Escutcheon                 

The shield-shaped field onto which are placed various heraldic devices which may form the arms of a family or nation. A shield.

Excelente                    

Spanish gold coin, equivalent to the ducado, or 375 maravedíes.

Fess(e)                        

In heraldry, a wide horizontal bar used to adorn a crest or shield.

Flan                            

A wafer of metal onto which the details of a coin are stamped or pressed, a blank or planchet.

Fleur(s)-de-lis             

French for “lily flowers”. In heraldry, a symbol of purity … or the Holy Trinity.

Grano                         

Spanish for “grain”, a quarter of a carat of gold.

Guañín                       

“Base” gold.

Hapsburg Dynasty     

In Spain, the bloodline succession of Hapsburg Family monarchs from 1516 to 1700.

Inescutcheon              

A shield or escutcheon positioned within the outline of another escutcheon.

Intaglio                      

Referring to a die so incised as to produce a design in relief (raised).

Jerusalem Cross        

A cross of four equal arms, each terminating in a small cross. A “crosslet” cross.

Legend                       

An inscription on a coin, usually placed around the periphery of Spanish or Spanish colonial pieces.

Macuquina(s)             

Another Spanish term for a coin of irregular outline, cob.

Maravedí(es)              

The basis for the Old Spanish monetary system, equal to 1/34 of a real. Copper coins in denominations of one, two, or four of these units.

Marco                         

Unit of weight used in accounting for precious metals, equal to one-half pound in the Avoirdupois system.

Medio                         

Vernacular (Spanish) for a silver coin of one-half real value.

Milled                         

Having a raised or knurled edge, as on a coin. Also referring to machine-made coins.

Onza                           

Literally “an ounce” in Spanish. Specifically an ounce of gold or a coin of that weight.

Pallet                          

In heraldry, a device appearing as a vertical bar in a shield.

Passant                       

Latin, referring to the image of a (lion) “passing”, one leg up, others on the ground.

Pistolé                         

French for “pistol”, used by the Spanish as a nickname for a coin of two escudos denomination.

Planchet                     

A wafer of metal onto which the details of a coin are stamped or pressed. A blank or flan.

Plata doble                 

Platinum, in Spanish “false silver”.

Quadrant                   

Used interchangeably with “quarter” as one of four equal divisions of a shield.

Quarter                      

In heraldry, any of the four equal sections into which a shield is divided.

Quatrefoil                  

Describing the four-petaled flower image as used on coins as a tressure.

Rampant                     

In heraldry, (a lion) reared up on the hind legs with the paws raised, as in defense or attack. Raging.

Real(es)                      

A denomination series for silver coins of Spanish or Spanish colonial origin, in which the largest coin is valued at 8 reales, and the lesser pieces are successively one-half the weight of the next greater (i.e. 8, 4, 2, 1, 1/2 and 1/4 reales.

Rectilinear                 

Characterized by straight lines, such as the sides of a square.

Riel(es)                        

In Spanish, a “rail” or small ingot. For our purposes, a long, thin bar or strap of gold or silver from which coin planchets are cut by shearing or chiseling them off the end.

Saltire                        

In heraldry, an X-shaped cross —the Cross of St. Andrew— used as a device within an escutcheon.

Shield                         

The field, shaped like a defensive shield, and onto which are placed various heraldic devices which may form the arms of a family or nation, an escutcheon or crest.

Specie                         

Gold, silver and other coins —hard money— as opposed to paper currency.

Statant                        

In heraldry, (a lion) in a standing “stationary” position, usually with four legs on the ground.

Tallador                     

The die sinker at a Spanish or Spanish colonial mint.

Tressure                     

An heraldic border. On coins, the enclosure around a cross.

Troy                           

System of weight used for precious metals wherein 1 ounce equals 31.103 grams and there are 12 ounces to the pound.

Tumbaga                    

A Native American term, adopted by the Spanish, referring to the metal(s) resulting from the melting down of Indian artifacts into ingots by Conquistadors for shipment to Spain.

Vellón                         

An alloy, as applies to Spanish or Spanish colonial coins, of copper with a trace amount of silver added for strength (or value?).