Barcelona Mint Collection (Seca de Barcelona)

The Mint of Barcelona (1441-1868), commonly known as La Seca (derived from the Arabic word sekka, meaning "place where currency is manufactured"), is located at number 40 Carrer Flassaders in Barcelona. It was established in 1441 during the reign of King Alfonso V, who granted it the right to mint its own currency, a sign of the economic and political independence the city enjoyed at that time. Between 1642 and 1648, during the War of the Reapers, the facility expanded to occupy an entire block between Carrer Flassaders, Carrer dels Mosques, and Carrer de Cirera.

With the reign of Philip V and the promulgation of the Decrees of the New Plant, along with the introduction of the absolutist regime of the Spanish monarchy, the production of local currency in Catalonia, Aragon, and Mallorca (1717) was prohibited. Nevertheless, the Mint of Barcelona remained active until the arrival of the First Republic, when it finally closed its doors (1868).

Collection description:
• 51 digitised documents (accounting books of the Mint of Barcelona) corresponding to the accounting records of La Seca volant de Catalunya, with titles indicated on the covers:
a) Address
b) Treasury
c) Reception
d) Book for recording
e) Book for copying certifications
f) Unit of the Royal Mint of Catalonia
g) Receiver of Catalonia
h) Balances or statements of the accounts for the Mint of Catalonia
i) Position and date of Platero mayor
j) Position and date of the copper currency
k) Position and date of the casts and testers

• 53 boxes of non-digitised documents related to the Barcelona Mint (approximately 1809-1860). The majority of these documents include:

• 30 boxes (approximately 1809-1823) of receipts for metal inputs (silver, gold, copper, etc.)
• 9 boxes (one marked 1848) containing unclassified documents
• 14 boxes (approximately 1809-1860) of documents with only a date, currently under review.

Collection date range: 1808-1860

Collection incorporation date: 1979

Depositary library: Social Sciences Library

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