New Spain (Texas) Jola Tokens – 1817 – 1818

Learn About the Two New Spain (Texas) Jola Tokens 1817-1818

Colonial coin collectors are moderately familiar with 1817 and 1818-dated coins from New Spain (now Texas) that have been collected, when available, with US colonial coins. These 1817 coins were not really known to the coin collecting fraternity until the late 1980s and their existence had not been verified. The 1818-dated coins were documented in numismatic publications as early as 1892.

Spanish missions in the land that would become Texas were flourishing in the 1810 – 1825 period. They used the riches of the land and grew crops and raised cattle. But like early colonial settlers, while commerce was booming, a severe lack of coinage was stifling the growth that was happening.

Manuel Pardo was the Spanish Governor of New Spain and after pleading with the Mexican Government hierarchy, he received permission and authorization to produce a total of 8,000 copper coins called Jolas. Each Jola was worth one-half Spanish (or Mexican) silver Real.

Pardo chose a local merchant, Manuel Barrera to produce these coins. The coins were crude and very simplistic in design. On the obverse side, the coins have the MB initials (for Manuel Barrera, the coiner) above the numeric denomination – “½” – and the date – “1817.”

The reverse side simply displays a five-pointed star. This is believed to be the first symbolic use of a 5-pointed star to represent the lands that would become Texas.

Governor Pardo was replaced a year later in 1818 by the new Governor Antonio Maria Martinez. The new Governor recalled the coins still in circulation and had new coins struck in his own honor, using a new coiner.

The new coins were struck by Jose Antonio de la Garza whose “JAG” initials replaced the “MB” of Manuel Barrera. The obverse still displayed the “1/2” denomination but a new date “1818.” The reverse still depicted the five-pointed star of New Spain. As the metal was scarce, some of these new 1818 Jolas was struck on normal size planchets and later were struck on smaller size planchets to conserve the copper and to be able to strike more coins.

How many pieces survive today is a mystery and only a small handful of each date is known. The 1817-dated coins seem to have survived in much lower grades. The 1818-dated Jolas seemed to have survived in grades approaching Uncirculated. But all of these coins are highly desirable and collectible in any identifiable grade. Multiple varieties of each date are known but all specimens, regardless of date or grade are considered to be rare!

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