The treasure of Sant Joan d'Alacant

From the 5th of February you can visit in the MARQ hall a temporary exhibition showing one of the most interesting sets of coins in the province of Alicante: the treasure of Sant Joan d'Alacant, hidden in 1823 and which is, to date, the most important find of coins from the contemporary period in our province.

View of the huerta of Alicante according to Cavanilles.

A monetary treasure is an accumulation of wealth made up of coins that was hidden in a context of political, military or economic instability, with the intention of retrieving it later. When no one was able to recover this fortune, the store of wealth became a treasure that remained hidden for many years or even centuries.

Plan of Sant Joan d'Alacant in 1741 (Municipal Archives of Alicante).

The Sant Joan d'Alacant treasure, consisting of 501 gold and silver coins, was discovered by chance on 13th April 1963 in a house in Sant Joan d'Alacant when renovation work was being carried out. Thanks to the exemplary actions of its discoverers, this treasure has come down to us in its entirety and can now be seen, in part, in the Modern and Contemporary Age room of the MARQ, the museum where the treasure was deposited in 1963 and where it remains in the custody of a ministerial order in 1967.

Signature of Antonio Quereda (Provincial Historical Archive of Alicante).

In this exhibition, the history of the treasure, its owner, the numismatic context and the historical circumstances that explain why it was hidden, are expressed in an educational way through audiovisual resources, a room panel and a magazine published specifically for this exhibition, with texts in Valencian, Spanish and English.

Values of the treasure of Sant Joan d'Alacant. 1: Eight escudos. 2: Four shields. 3: Two coats of arms. 4: One shield. 5: Half shield. 6: Eight reales. 7: Four reales. 8: Two reales. 9: One real. 10: Half real. 11: Twenty reales. 12: Ten reals. 13: Peseta.

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