CUARTO: COIN OF CATALONIA
3 cuartos, 1837: Principality of Catalonia (Spain)
Principality of Catalonia was a medieval and early modern state in the Iberian Peninsula (nowadays — an autonomous community in Spain). The term Principality of Catalonia was official until the 1830s, when the Spanish government implemented the centralized provincial division (Principality was divided into four provinces).
3. CUAR: 3 cuartos.
PRINCIPLE. DE CATALUÑA (Catalan "Principat de Catalunya"): Principality of Catalonia.
Coat of arms of Catalonia (based on the heraldic symbols of the Kingdom of Aragon).
ISABEL 2ª REYNA CONST. DE LAS E: Isabella II constitutional queen of Spain (the first constitutional monarch of the country in the history of Spain).
The crowned coat of arms of the monarchs of Spain during 1700-1868 and 1875-1931: in the base — the coats of arms of the kingdoms of Castile (castle) and León (lion), as well as the family coat of arms of the House of Bourbon (three golden lilies).
The Royal Mint of Barcelona.
- Copper: 26 mm - 7 g
- Reference price: 12$
COIN CUARTO — WHERE & WHEN (coins catalog: by names & emitents)
- PRINCIPALITY OF CATALONIA (1836-1848): cuarto = 2 ochavo = 1/4 sueldo
- REPUBLIC OF ECUADOR (1842-1862): cuarto = 1/4 real
CUARTO as coin name.
In the 19th century, a fairly common coin of the Principality of Catalonia (modern Spain) was the quarto. This copper coin was 1/4 of the sueldo. It is this ratio that is reflected in the name of the coin in Spanish.
It is interesting that starting from 1836, the denomination began to be indicated on coins in the local Catalan language: cuarto. For the next few years, two coins of this denomination were minted: 3 and 6 cuartos.
In essence, cuarto and quarto are one and the same coin, but I fundamentally consider the related names in such cases as separate numismatic units.
In addition to the two coins mentioned above, several more coins of this denomination are known from numismatic catalogs, namely: two types of Ecuadorian cuarto of the middle of the 19th century. These coins were 1/4 of the Ecuadorian real.
Also, the term cuarto appears on coins not as an independent denomination, but as a prefix to the names of other denominations: UN CENTAVO I CUARTO (1¼ centavo, Colombia), UNO Y CUARTO CENTÉSIMOS (1¼ centésimos, Panama)...
In translation from the Catalan language, the name cuarto is translated as "fourth", "quarter".
Many states at different times had coins of the same type — fourth parts, as a rule, of the main monetary units: quart of Gibraltar, kwartnik of Poland, quarting of Hungary, quarter of the USA...
