oa The Majorcan Ecclesiastical Lead Tokens. A System to Control Clergymen’s Presence at Mass

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In the sixteenth century, the Cathedral of Majorca introduced a unique system to ensure that priests participated in church masses. It consisted of one or more lead tokens being handed out at a specific point in the ceremony, which could be exchanged for currency at the end of the month. This practice was introduced in a turbulent moment in the history of the Mediterranean island; its advantages were important enough that the scheme was extended to most Majorcan parishes and remained in use until the late nineteenth or early twentieth century. It also gave material support to the so-called ‘ecclesiastical benefit’ system, which had been an essential resource for financing the Catholic Church since the Middle Ages.