Makukin

Initially, the term “Makukin” denoted the most common coin denomination - 8 reais , corresponding to the European taler. In modern numismatics, “makukin” also means smaller denominations of 1, 2, 4, and 8 reais ^[1] , minted in South America under the leadership of the Spaniards and having an “irregular” shape.

The makukin mint began in the New World during the reign of King Philip II of Spain (1556-1598). Makukins were made from 1572 to 1732. In Spanish America, makukin remained in circulation until the 70s of the XVIII century, when, according to the decree of Charles III (1759-1788), they were withdrawn from circulation. During the reign of Charles II (1665–1700), golden macukins of 8, 4, 2, and 1 escudos were also issued ^[2] . Makukins are found in large numbers on the sunken Spanish ships transporting these coins from the New World to Europe and the Philippines ^[3] .

The popularity of the Makukins, despite their irregular shape, was so great that they could be faked. In modern numismatics, the cost of “fake” makukins can exceed the cost of the original ^[4] . Forging a makukin in those days from the technical side was much easier than a European thaler of the same period.

In numismatics, sometimes makukin is understood not so much as a coin, but as a “rough silver blank” ^[5] , made in South America by the Spaniards. Subsequently, makukins were specially purchased by European mints for remelting.

Researchers differ on the origin of the term makukin. Several options are suggested. According to some, the term “makukin” denoted metal obtained illegally from abandoned mines ^[6] . In another opinion, the more common, minted roughly, manually, makukin had an irregular shape, from where it got its name ^[2] . The etymology of the word “makuk”, which means “incorrect” in Arabic, is also in favor of the latter. According to another version, the term “Makukin” arose much later and is associated with the discovery of a large number of “wrong” coins on sunken Spanish ships ^[3] .

Makukins received a lot of specific names that distinguish these peculiar coins from other coins. In different countries, the following names of these coins became famous.

1. Actually, “Makukin” - from the Arabic “Makukin” - is “wrong.” This term is most often found in historical literature and numismatics.
2. “Moneda cortada” or “duro cortado” - from the Spanish “circumcised coin”. As in the previous case, the name of the coin comes from its irregular shape. The term has spread in Spanish-speaking countries.
3. “Ship peso” or “ship piastre” - from the German “Schiffspeso” or “Schiffspiaster”. The name has taken root in Germany, Austria and other German-speaking countries. In the latter case, it is understood that the Makukins were minted directly on ships carrying silver to Europe. However, this fact is not documented.
4. "Pirate coin." The Makukins often paid their salaries to corsairs , the “official pirates,” who received permission for privateering on behalf of the supreme authority of a belligerent state. Makukin as a “pirate coin”, made from South America from 1572 to 1732, should be distinguished from modern souvenir coin-like products with the same name, which have nothing to do with the “ coin ” except for the round shape. Modern “pirate coins”, where on the one hand, for example, a skull is depicted with arms or bones crossed under it , have no connection with the New World makukin.

It is noteworthy that in Latin American countries “Makukina” is a synonym for the word “deceiving” ^[3] .

One of the explanations for the angularity of coins and the poor technique of minting is that the makukins were not minted at regular mints, but by the owners of the mines, which were to immediately turn the mined metal into a coin and hand it over to the royal authorities ^[7] . According to another version, makukin manufacturers did not set themselves the goal of issuing a full-fledged coin, implying that a semi-finished product was minted.

The technology for making makukins was extremely primitive compared to the technology for making silver coins in European mints of that period. Initially, silver was processed in order to achieve maximum metal purity with existing technologies. The silver billet was shaped into a cylinder and cut into pieces to obtain discs. These discs were cut with scissors until their weight reached the approved norm, after which they struck the image with a hammer. According to reports, 20% of the minted makukin, the so-called royal lodge (“quinto real”), was sent to Spain as a tax, since it was easy to determine the exact amount of gold and silver mined in the colonies using the makukin. The Makukins performed only this temporary function: they were considered rather inconvenient and were not used in circulation ^[8] .

However, not all Makukins were melted down. Many copies of this coin have survived to this day. The fact that the Makukins did not immediately go to the mint for remelting, but circulated as a means of payment, is confirmed by the numerous finds of Makukins in treasures. The value of the Makukins was that when the coinage was of poor quality, they contained high-quality silver with virtually no impurities and could simply be exchanged for goods by weight.

Another advantage of Makukin is the lack of intelligible information about the issuer of the coin, which could be understood by most participants in the economic turnover. The Makukins do not contain the profile of a ruler, which to some extent excludes the political component of the coin. The letters in the coin legend are also minted extremely poorly. Almost unknown are Makukins with a legend containing all the text laid down by the stamp cutter. The makukins minted in the transatlantic overland could not be perceived not so much as coins, but as silver-containing raw materials, peculiar “small ingots” of square or polygonal shape.

The Makukins, who came to Europe from South America from the middle of the 16th century, often found themselves in Russia . The fact that the Spanish-American silver came to Russia not only in the form of thalers , the raw material for minting of which it served, but also in kind, is evidenced by two large treasures of makukins found in Moscow in 1970 in Ipatievsky Lane and in 1972 on during the excavation work in the trench of the heating main near the complex of buildings of the new Institute of the Automobile Industry, where the construction team of energy students was working. Treasures date from the end of the 20s of the XVII century ^[9] . In the first case, 3398 coins were found (74 kg of silver), in the second case, 1200 coins. The circumstances of their findings are described in detail in the literature ^[10] . There is information about the earlier receipts of makukins in Russia ^[7] .

In numismatic literature, attention is drawn to the coincidence of the sign of the Moscow money yard with the sign of the money court in Mexico City , placed on coins in eight reais (Makukins). It has been suggested that the Russian money-makers had a direct acquaintance with the mint - Mexican Makukins, on which the mint mark with the letter “M” and the letter “o” above it was depicted, as a rule, on a large scale, and led to the choice of this combination as the emblem of the Moscow monetary yard ^[9] . For the first time this sign was placed on the pennies of Fedor, issued after 1596.

Finds of makukins in treasures are also known in Ukraine . So, among the coins of the “Bereznovsky treasure”, found in 1975 by a resident of the village of Berezne ( Rivne region ) dated to the XVI-XVII centuries, several such coins were found. Coins minted for a hundred years are represented in the Bereznovsky treasure. This is explained, first of all, by the fact that thalers and other high-grade coins were not withdrawn from circulation ^[11] . Thus, Makukin, being a high-quality coin, enjoyed authority among persons who accumulated wealth in the form of silver coins. Makukin repeatedly falls into treasures simultaneously with high-quality European thalers.

In May 2016, during the construction of auto-approaches to the Crimean bridge, a treasure containing 15 macukins was found ^[12] .