Hydraulic Lathe, Casa de Moneda
View an authentic wooden hydraulic wooden lathe found inside the Casa de la Moneda Museum in Segovia, Spain. This lathe is hydraulically powered and was used as part of the process of minting coins in Spain during the 17th century. It is on permanent display at the Real Casa de Moneda in Segovia, Spain in the Sala de Laminacion y Acunacion.
The press is connected to an exterior wheel that is moved by the fall of the water from the river outside. The mill can be started or stopped by means of a handle that opens or closes the passage of water that falls on the outer wheel.
The Real Casa de Moneda, or Royal Mint, is located in Segovia, Spain. It is the original Spanish mint where all the coins in Spain where once produced. After the centralization of the manufacture of currency in Madrid in 1869, the building was sold, and from 1879 onwards a flour factory was housed for one hundred years before it was converted into a museum.
