Did Queen Isabella pawn her jewels to finance Columbus expedition?
March 17, 2025 | Fun Facts
According to popular belief, Queen Isabella of Spain pawned her crown jewels to pay for the historic voyage of Christopher Columbus in 1492.
That may be a bit of a stretch of the truth. According to recent reports from the Jewelry Industry Council whose researchers have been doing some digging around in history to come up with the "inside story." Facts relating to the circumstances under which the voyage was financed were brought to light through the help of the Hispanic Society of America here and history books that include "Jewels in Spain" by Priscilla Muller, curator Of the Museum of the Hispanic Society.
It seems that Isabella couldn't pawn her crown jewels (or Columbus on her behalf) as they were already in hock to help pay for Spain's war against the Moors. All the queen's greatest treasures were locked away in a pawnbrokers' vaults at the time Columbus set sail, according to the council's account. They included a rich gem studded gold collar. a magnificent pearl and ruby necklace given to her by King Ferdinand as a wedding present, and a huge ruby. as well as the fabulous, jeweled crown of Castile.
The council suggests that more than likely, the queen helped Columbus by offering some of her lesser jewelry — mostly rich gold coins, a dazzling jeweled gold bracelet and a golden diamond and ruby encrusted salamander.
So, while the queen did not necessarily pawn the crown jewels, she did use some of her lesser pieces to help. Additionally, because of her confidence in and backing of Columbus, it enabled him to obtain backing from other sources. A police organization known as the Santa Hermandad (Holy Brotherhood) advanced most of the monies. The treasurer of the Holy Brotherhood, Luis Santangel, was a high official at the royal court and a staunch supporter of Columbus. Columbus himself, with a little help from his wealthy friends, paid one eighth of the expenses.
The total cost of the expedition came to two million maravedis — roughly $170.000 in modern U.S. currency.
Pawning does have its place in history and the financing of many wars and expeditions, but the famous sail of 1492 was only partially financed through pawning jewels from the Queen and not the crown jewel according to the recent investigations of the Jewelry Industry Council. This is a fun fact of pawning being part of history.
Stop by your nearest pawn shop to see what type of unique items you can find. Stop by a pawnshop. Pawnshops carry jewelry, game systems, televisions, speakers, dj equipment, instruments, laptops, and so much more. Treasures and unique items galore.