‘Small is beautiful’: la Meaja. Moneda mínima en Castilla (siglos XIII-XV). De fragmento monetal a dinero imaginado

This paper studies the smallest fraction of money, or currency divisor, the "Meaja", in the territories of the Castilian crown during the lower Middle Ages, which is initially related to the “obolo”. This coin was extremely important in order to give exactness to transactions and facilitat...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Revista numismática Hécate no. 4; pp. 180 - 199
Main Author:	Eduardo Fuentes Gango
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	Spanish
Published:	Revista Numismática Hécate 01-12-2017
Subjects:	cinquén fractional currency handmade-cut coin meaja Medieval Coins Castile óbolo
Online Access:	Get full text
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Summary:	This paper studies the smallest fraction of money, or currency divisor, the "Meaja", in the territories of the Castilian crown during the lower Middle Ages, which is initially related to the “obolo”. This coin was extremely important in order to give exactness to transactions and facilitate operations: physically coined (occasionally) or handmadecut of money (more often). The meaja allowed the smallest payments (such as alms, portazgos, sisas, or dues of fellowships). The other divisive fraction (which would become a multiple of dinero in the period), the cinquén, is also contemplated. The meaja evolved in its relative value, being smaller and smaller (within the progressive devaluation of the money that fractioned), arriving at the XV century without just liberating value and its disuse, ending just used for accounting as “imagined money”.
ISSN:	2386-8643 2386-8643