QUART: COIN OF GIBRALTAR
2 quarts, 1842: British colony of Gibraltar
Ruler: Victoria — Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (1837-1901).
GIBRALTAR. TWO QUARTS.
A variation on the Coat of arms of Gibraltar: a three-towered castle under which hangs a key.
VICTORIA D: G: BRITANNIAR: REGINA F: D: (Latin "Victoria dei gratia Britanniar regina fidei defensor"): Victoria, by the grace of God, the British Queen, defender of the faith.
Portrait of the young Queen by William Wyon.
Engraver: William Wyon.
The coin is damaged (reduced in diameter) — it is possible that it was used in a pendant or some other souvenir. The legend has suffered significantly.
- Copper: 27 mm - 10.33 g
- Reference price: 3.5$
COIN QUART — WHERE & WHEN (coins catalog: by names & emitents)
- BRITISH COLONY OF GIBRALTAR (1841-1861): quart = 1/24 real
- BISHOPRIC OF LAUSANNE (SWITZERLAND, 15th-16th centuries): quart = 1/120 livre
About the name of the coin quart: the name of the quart coin can be assumed to come from the Latin term "quarta" — quarter, fourth part.
In numismatic catalogs, you can find mentions of 19th century Gibraltar quarts (equal to the British farthing, which is equal to 1/4 penny), medieval quarts of Swiss Lausanne (15th-16th centuries), French quarts of Napoleon Bonaparte (¼ franc), Spanish quarts as a quarter of a real (including colonial ones: in particular, of the Spanish colony of the Philippines)... Also quite famous quarts of Catalonia (English "Principality of Catalonia") of the 19th century, which were 1/4 of a sueldo. But, in fact, only the corresponding coins of Gibraltar and the Bishopric of Lausanne (Switzerland) can be considered a quart (not quarto) coin, in my personal opinion.
Several other coin names of similar etymology are known: quarter, quartaro, quarting, quarto, cuarto, quattrino...
