Detail mince: COLOMBIA, Filip IV. , Cartagena, gold cob 2 escudos, 1624-1635, AU 6.93 g

The Mint of Cartagena de Indias (Casa de la Moneda de Cartagena in Spanish) was one of the important and historic sites of the Spanish colonial economy in the New World. Cartagena de Indias was one of the Spanish Empire's main ports and trading centers in the Americas, and the mint in this city played a key role in the production of colonial coins, especially in the 16th and 17th centuries.

History of the mint

The Cartagena mint was founded in 1620 during the reign of Philip IV. Spain (1621-1665), a period when Spain depended heavily on the wealth of gold and silver mines in the Americas. Cartagena was a strategic point for the trade in silver and gold coming from areas such as Peru and New Spain (present-day Mexico), and was of key importance to Spanish trade routes between the Americas and Europe.

The mint was part of a broader system of Spanish monetary policy designed to maintain control over economic and financial flows in the colonies. Coins minted at Cartagena were exported to Europe, but were also used in the Americas themselves, including in trade transactions with other colonies and with indigenous peoples.

Today, the legacy of the Casa de la Moneda in Cartagena survives in the few coins that remain, which are highly prized by collectors and represent an important part of monetary history.

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