QUARTO: COIN OF GIBRALTAR
Quarto, 1810: British possession of Gibraltar
VALUE ONE QUARTO.
A variation on the Coat of arms of Gibraltar: a three-towered castle under which hangs a key.
In fact, this is not a regular British coin (this is convincingly evidenced by the absence of a portrait and regalia of the current monarch), but a token, which in numismatic catalogs is classified as "Emergency coinage / Merchant tokens".
PAYABLE AT ROBERT KEELING & SONS GIBRALTAR: after the Capture of Gibraltar in 1704, ordinary British Coins started to circulate in the City. However to relieve an acute shortage of small change, a local merchant, Robert Keeling, started issuing copper tokens during 1802. This was, by then, a normal practice by many traders and shopkeepers in Britain (according to information from the website www.gibraltarnationalmint.gov.gi).
Lion holding a golden key in its paw — it represents Britains Naval Power & Gibraltar as the key to the Mediterranean (the golden key is also featured on the modern coat of arms of Gibraltar).
- Copper: 20 mm - 3.31 g
- Reference price: 34$
COIN QUARTO — WHERE & WHEN (coins catalog: by names & emitents)
- BRITISH POSSESSION OF GIBRALTAR (1713-1830): quarto = 1/24 real
- PRINCIPALITY OF CATALONIA (1808-1813): quarto = 1/24 peseta
- ITALIAN STATES (Republic of Bologna, County of Cocconato, Abbey of Fruttuaria...), 15th-16th centuries: quarto = 1/4 soldo
- SPANISH COLONY OF THE PHILIPPINES (18th-19th centuries): quarto = 1/24 real
QUARTO as coin name.
In world numismatics, there is a significant part of coin names (denominations), the etymology of which clearly reflects the equality of the coin's value to a certain number of other denominations. For example: semis (1/2 as), dwudenar (2 denar), dwojak (2 grosz)... trillina (3 denaro), ternar (3 denar)... czworak (4 grosz)... quinarius (5 as)... dime (10 cent)...
The denomination quarto (from the Latin term "quarta": quarter, fourth part) can be considered in the same context: the coin is equal to 1/4, as a rule, real. Closely similar coin names are also known: cuarto, quart.
Several issuers that issued quarto are mentioned in numismatic catalogs — Italian States, Philippines, Catalonia, Gibraltar...
The quarto of the type presented on this website (Gibraltar, from the times of British rule) is perhaps the most common. What is surprising and interesting: during the first half of the 19th century, Gibraltar coins with denominations of both quarto and quart were issued in parallel.
In my opinion, the appearance of quarto fully reflects the peculiarity of that historical moment — the transitional period. The fact is that somewhat earlier this territory passed from Spanish possession (where cuarto was minted) to British with the English adaptation of the name of the denomination to quart. By the way, since 1838, the US coin quarter has also been issued.
That is, the situation looks like the evolution of the name:
It would not be out of place to mention here the earlier European coins — quarting and quartaro.
