4 Maravedis - Charles V

These billon maravedís from Santo Domingo hold a specific claim: they are among the earliest coins struck in the Western Hemisphere under royal Spanish authority. The Casa de la Moneda in Santo Domingo was established in 1542 by royal decree, making it one of the first operating mints in the Americas — preceding the better-known Mexico City and Lima operations in their respective colonial contexts by varying margins.

Charles V never set foot in the New World. The coinage issued under his name from Santo Domingo served a colony already past its economic peak — Hispaniola had been largely overshadowed by the mainland conquests of Mexico and Peru by the 1540s.