Passage: Following Henry VIII of England of England and his infamous "Great Debasement" program that began 1526, the Spanish King Philip III tried to cement his Spanish legacy through changes in coinage strategy. Previously, Spanish Kings (at least from 1471) issued a largely copper fractional coinage called blancas, with a nominal money-of-account value of 0.5 maravedí, but with a very small amount of silver to convince the public that it was indeed precious-metal "money". The blanca issued in 1471 had a silver fineness of 10 grains or 3.47% (weighing 1.107g). In 1497, that fineness was reduced to 7 grains (2.43% fine); in 1552, to 5.5 grains (1.909% fine); in 1566, to 4 grains (1.39% fine). By the start of the 17th century, inflation took hold of Spain as the gap between nominal and silver-based prices dramatically shifted. The purely copper coinage had done its damage to Spain. The difference between the silver- and vellon-based price indexes in Spain showed that the purely copper coinage other European countries used made up a much smaller proportion of the total coined money supply (something the Spanish Kings had overlooked and Malestroit was able to pinpoint).
Did the blanca have a higher fineness in 1471 or 1497? Did the blanca have a higher fineness in 1552 or 1566? How many fewer grains did the blanca have in 1566 than it had in 1471? How many grains higher was the blanca's fineness in 1471 compared to 1566? How many grains was the difference between 1471 and 1566? How many grains was the difference in fineness in 1552 from 1471? How many more grains did the blanca have in 1471 compared to the blanca issued in 1566? How many more grains was the fineness of 1497 than that in 1566? How many years were blancas in use before King Philip III made changes in the coinage strategy? Which year saw the fineness with the highest grain amount? Which year saw the lowest grains, 1471, 1497, 1552 or 1556? Which year was the blanca issued with a lower silver fineness, 1471 or 1497?