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The Best and Worst of Currencies: Seigniorage and Currency Policy in Spain, 1597–1650

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  • Motomura, Akira

Abstract

The Spanish Monarchy pursued a rational policy of price discrimination among its Castilian currencies while financing its early-seventeenth-century wars. Large-denomination gold and silver coins circulated internationally, forcing the Monarchy to act more competitively and not seek additional short-run revenue. In contrast, petty coinage was a local monopoly. The Monarchy raised seigniorage rates and issued large quantities, generating large revenues. The nominal petty money stock grew rapidly, then fluctuated. The real petty money stock grew, then varied little as petty currency depreciation dampened nominal changes.

Suggested Citation

  • Motomura, Akira, 1994. "The Best and Worst of Currencies: Seigniorage and Currency Policy in Spain, 1597–1650," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 54(1), pages 104-127, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:cup:jechis:v:54:y:1994:i:01:p:104-127_01
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    Cited by:

    1. Karaman, K. Kıvanç & Pamuk, Şevket & Yıldırım-Karaman, Seçil, 2020. "Money and monetary stability in Europe, 1300–1914," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 115(C), pages 279-300.
    2. John H. Munro, 2009. "Coinage and Monetary Policies in Burgundian Flanders during the late-medieval 'Bullion Famines',. 1384 - 1482," Working Papers tecipa-361, University of Toronto, Department of Economics.
    3. Drelichman, Mauricio, 2005. "The curse of Moctezuma: American silver and the Dutch disease," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 42(3), pages 349-380, July.
    4. Rafael Torres Sánchez & Javier Gómez Biscarri & Fernando Pérez de Gracia, 2004. "Exchange Rate Behavior and Exchange Rate Puzzles: Why the XVIII Century Might Help," Faculty Working Papers 12/04, School of Economics and Business Administration, University of Navarra.
    5. Chen, Yao & Palma, Nuno & Ward, Felix, 2021. "Reconstruction of the Spanish money supply, 1492–1810," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    6. J. I. Andrés Ucendo & R. Lanza García, 2014. "Prices and real wages in seventeenth-century Madrid," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 67(3), pages 607-626, August.
    7. James Conklin, 1998. "The Theory of Sovereign Debt and Spain under Philip II," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 106(3), pages 483-513, June.
    8. Motomura, Akira, 1997. "New Data on Minting, Seigniorage, and the Money Supply in Spain (Castile), 1597-1643," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 34(3), pages 331-367, July.
    9. Yiting Li & Akihiko Matsui, 2005. "A Theory of International Currency and Seigniorage Competition," CIRJE F-Series CIRJE-F-363, CIRJE, Faculty of Economics, University of Tokyo.
    10. Mauricio Drelichman, 2004. "The Curse of Moctezuma: American Silver and the Dutch Disease, 1501-1650," Economic History 0404001, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    11. Li, Yiting & Matsui, Akihiko, 2009. "A theory of international currency: Competition and discipline," Journal of the Japanese and International Economies, Elsevier, vol. 23(4), pages 407-426, December.
    12. Sussman, Nathan & Zeira, Joseph, 2003. "Commodity money inflation: theory and evidence from France in 1350-1436," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 50(8), pages 1769-1793, November.
    13. Lawrence H. White, 2022. "The private mint in economics: evidence from the American gold rushes," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 75(1), pages 3-21, February.
    14. António Henriques & Nuno Palma, 2023. "Comparative European Institutions and the Little Divergence, 1385–1800," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 28(2), pages 259-294, June.
    15. Yiting Li & Akihiko Matsui, 2005. "A Theory of International Currency and Seigniorage Competition," CARF F-Series CARF-F-041, Center for Advanced Research in Finance, Faculty of Economics, The University of Tokyo.
    16. Chilosi, David & Volckart, Oliver, 2010. "Good or bad money?: debasement, society and the state in the late Middle Ages," Economic History Working Papers 27946, London School of Economics and Political Science, Department of Economic History.
    17. José I. García de Paso, "undated". "The 1628 Castilian Crydown: A Test of Competing Theories of the Price Level," Studies on the Spanish Economy 103, FEDEA.
    18. José I. García de Paso, "undated". "The 1628 Castilian Crydown: Origins and Failure," Studies on the Spanish Economy 110, FEDEA.
    19. Víctor M. Gómez‐Blanco, 2024. "A safe asset in early modern Castile, 1543–1714," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 77(1), pages 212-243, February.
    20. José I. García de Paso, "undated". "La Política Monetaria Castellana de los Siglos XVI y XVII," Studies on the Spanish Economy 111, FEDEA.
    21. Álvarez Nogal, Carlos, 2003. "Spanish monarchy's monetary problems in the seventeenth century : small change and foreign credit," IFCS - Working Papers in Economic History.WH wh030905, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid. Instituto Figuerola.

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