Modern Spain

[JAZ Numismatics]

A few years ago a Spanish dealer sent me a bag of coins and they didn't look particularly wonderful, so they sat on the shelf until last week. I started poking through them and actually discovered some interesting pieces, so I'll post them in this thread over the next few days. Feel free to post any of your MODERN Spanish coins - we'll leave the ancients for another thread.

For starters, here's a billon meaja from the Kingdom of Castile and Leon, struck by Alfonso X "the Sage", and produced only in the year 1281. Alfonso came as a pleasant surprise to me. He wasn't merely another dumb monarch playing a game of thrones. He was a scholar and musician. scientist, poet, and sponsor of many translations aimed at educating the Castilian people in a variety of subjects. A true "Renaissance Man." If you'd like to get into a medieval mood, listen to some of the music he composed at YouTube here...

 

 

Anyway, here's the coin. Apparently it's pretty rare. The only other examples I found were on Numista...

https://en.numista.com/catalogue/castile_and_leon-8.html

 

SPAIN. Castile and Leon.

Alfonso X, 1252-1281.

BL Meaja, 12mm, 0.6g; 10h.

Obv.: CA-ST-EL-LE; Castle within double-lined square, adorned with two circles at each corner.

Rev.: LE-GI-ON-IS; Lion standing left within double-lined square, adorned with two circles at each corner. 

Ref.: AB 280-3. 

Edited March 27 by JAZ Numismatics

[expat]

That is a nice coin, and as you say, pretty scarce.

Here is a piece from just a few years before that

JAIME I. (1213-1276 AD). Crown of Aragon.
Obverse: ARAGON., bust of King Jaime, crowned and draped, left.
Reverse: IACOBVS REX., cross of Caravaca, (Patriarchal Cross).
1 Denier (1/240th Libra), Billon.
1.09g. 18mm. Jaca mint, (1085-1340), Spain. CRU # 318.

[ChrisB]

This is an area that I have only dabbled in occasionally. I don't need another addiction. 

 

 

I see that it is attributed the same as @expat although mine is only .86g

[JAZ Numismatics]

In contrast to Alfonso X, here is Enrique IV - so weak and ineffectual that he earned the anti-honorific "Impotent." He did manage to recapture Gibralter from the Muslims, but his nobles fell into warring factions that accomplished little of any good for the Castilian people. At the age of 15 he was married to Blanche of Navarre, in order to strengthen relations between Navarre and Castile, but the marriage was annulled 13 years later because it was never consummated. Perhaps that's part of the reason for his moniker. However, the local prostitutes attested to the fact that Henry was not the least bit impotent, so apparently he just didn't take a shine to Blanche. There's no need to go on about his history - it's the boring history of a mediocre man that did little but pursue his own gratification. However, he did know how to dress the part of a medieval king...

 

I got three of these billon blancas in the lot, two from the Burgos mint, one from Toledo. This is the best one...

 

SPAIN. Kingdom of Castile and Leon.

Enrique IV "the Impotent" (1454-1474).

BL Blanca, 22mm, 0.9g, 12h; Burgos mint, 1471-1474.

Obv.: ENRICVS DEI GRATIA REX; Castle in double-lined diamond; mintmark B below; all within dotted circle.

Rev.: XPS VINCIT XPS REGNAT; Lion in double-lined square; within dotted circle.

Ref.: AB 828. 

[expat]

I am in a similar situation in that I was gifted 141 Spanish coins recently. It is from an American who sadly has terminal cancer. He dispersed his entire collection to those who would appreciate them. I got his Spanish ones. Here is an example of one from the multitude.

 It is from a single year issue, at a time of provisional government, 1870. One of few modern types that has no reference to country of issue on it.

 The figure is of Hispania seated right. Ref: KM# 663, Cal# 24

[JAZ Numismatics]

46 minutes ago, expat said:

I am in a similar situation in that I was gifted 141 Spanish coins recently. It is from an American who sadly has terminal cancer. He dispersed his entire collection to those who would appreciate them. I got his Spanish ones. Here is an example of one from the multitude.

 It is from a single year issue, at a time of provisional government, 1870. One of few modern types that has no reference to country of issue on it.

 The figure is of Hispania seated right. Ref: KM# 663, Cal# 24

 

You have the 10 centimos denomination. I received a couple of 1 centimo coins. As you mentioned, the type doesn't reference Spain in the inscriptions, but another interesting feature is that it gives the weight and division of the coin: in my case one gram, one thousand pieces per kilogram; in your case, 10 grams, 100 pieces per kilogram. I wonder how many coin types meant for circulation included their weight in the legends? I don't know moderns very well, so I can't think of any...

 

SPAIN. Provisional Government.

Un Centimo, 15mm, 1.0g, 6h.

Obv.: UN GRAMMO; Seated Hispanic within beaded border; LM below (engraver Luis Marchionni Hombrón).

Rev.: MIL PIEZAS EN KILOG. UN CENTIMO; Rampant lion, oval arms within beaded circle; OM below (Oeschger Mesdach)

Ref.: KM 660; Cal 27. 

Edited March 27 by JAZ Numismatics

[robinjojo]

I haven't rolled out this coin for a while:

Spain, Segovia, Philip IV, 50 reales, 1635 R.

[expat]

2 minutes ago, JAZ Numismatics said:

 

 I wonder how many coin types meant for circulation included their weight on the coin? I don't know modern coins well, so I can't think of any...

I don´t know of many, it might make for an interesting thread. Mexican coinage sometimes has it, this states its weight and silver content

 

 

 

[ChrisB]

Here is some Spain related emergency money. Some may be considered siege money.

 

 

 

[Ryro]

Fun post! It's always cool when you come across something you set aside without much expectation and end up with a surprise. Here's a Spanish coin with a great story of my own:

Spanish States, Castile and León (Kingdom). Ferdinand V and Isabel I (Los Reyes Católicos - the Catholic Monarchs) CU Blanca. Sevilla (Seville) mint, 1474-1504. ✠ FЄRꞂAꞂDVS ◦ ЄT ◦ ҺЄLISABЄT, crowned monogram; S-S across fields / ✠ RЄX : ЄT: RЄGINA : CAST : LЄGI, crowned monogram; two stars across fields. Calicó 653; AC 46. 1.72g, 20mm, 12h. Saturnalia gift from @bcuda

This is the same Ferdinand and Isabel that enabled Christopher Columbus to find the new(ish) world and backed the infamous Spanish Inquisition!!!

[JAZ Numismatics]

On 3/29/2024 at 7:21 PM, Ryro said:

Fun post! It's always cool when you come across something you set aside without much expectation and end up with a surprise. Here's a Spanish coin with a great story of my own:

Spanish States, Castile and León (Kingdom). Ferdinand V and Isabel I (Los Reyes Católicos - the Catholic Monarchs) CU Blanca. Sevilla (Seville) mint, 1474-1504. ✠ FЄRꞂAꞂDVS ◦ ЄT ◦ ҺЄLISABЄT, crowned monogram; S-S across fields / ✠ RЄX : ЄT: RЄGINA : CAST : LЄGI, crowned monogram; two stars across fields. Calicó 653; AC 46. 1.72g, 20mm, 12h. Saturnalia gift from @bcuda

This is the same Ferdinand and Isabel that enabled Christopher Columbus to find the new(ish) world and backed the infamous Spanish Inquisition!!!

I received a couple of those in my lot as well. It would have been nice for us collectors if they had bothered to date them!

[bcuda]

On 3/29/2024 at 6:21 PM, Ryro said:

Fun post! It's always cool when you come across something you set aside without much expectation and end up with a surprise. Here's a Spanish coin with a great story of my own:

Spanish States, Castile and León (Kingdom). Ferdinand V and Isabel I (Los Reyes Católicos - the Catholic Monarchs) CU Blanca. Sevilla (Seville) mint, 1474-1504. ✠ FЄRꞂAꞂDVS ◦ ЄT ◦ ҺЄLISABЄT, crowned monogram; S-S across fields / ✠ RЄX : ЄT: RЄGINA : CAST : LЄGI, crowned monogram; two stars across fields. Calicó 653; AC 46. 1.72g, 20mm, 12h. Saturnalia gift from @bcuda

This is the same Ferdinand and Isabel that enabled Christopher Columbus to find the new(ish) world and backed the infamous Spanish Inquisition!!!

Ryro what a great attribution to your coin, glad you took the time to give it the pedigree it deserved.

[robinjojo]

Here's a very recent arrival from the current HJB buy-bid sale.  I used the certificate that HJB sent earlier this year, so the coin's price became $200.  Quite a reasonable price in my estimation.

The coin is a hammered 4 reales of Ferdinand V and Isabella I of Spain.  Between the 4 reales and the 8 reales issued by these rulers, the 8 reales are by far the rarest.  Four reales are more readily available, but the prices for these coins have risen markedly over the past few years.  I suppose there's a demand for coins issued around the time of Columbus' voyages.  

What attracted me to this coin is the unusual treatment of the obverse legend.  Basically there seems to have been a space issue, just not enough room to accommodate both names, with Isabella (Elisabeth) being truncated.  I have seen different treatments of this legend, including some abbreviations of Elizabeth's name, but this example is super truncated, with her name, partially weak due flat spots on the flan's edges, as (EL)ISA.  I have seen other 4 reales with her name ending ELISABET or ELISABET DI G, but no others with this treatment of her name.  

The assaye sqarer D (Melchor Damian) appears on the reverse, to the right of the yoke.

I need to do more research on this coin to link it to a Calico reference number.  It's possible that this variety is not so rare.  One problem researching these and other hammer struck cobs is that the peripheries can be unreadable due to flan irregularities, off-center strikes, or surface condition issues, or all of the above!  This coin, taking into account the peripheral flat spots, is really quite legible on both sides - good centering as well.

Spain, Ferdinand V and Isabella I, 4 reales, Seville, assayer D, ND (1474-1504).

13.66 grams 

Edited April 22 by robinjojo

[robinjojo]

Here's one more coin that I photographed today which fits nicely into this thread.  It is a somewhat unusual one, from that prolonged exercise of plunder and pillage known as the 30 Years War.  This coin represents France's efforts during this conflict to incorporate Catalonia into the Kingdom of France.

Catalonia, with Barcelona at its center has historically been a region of Spain that has had its revolts from the central government in the past, and the conflict carries on to this day.  This coin, featuring a portrait of Louis XIII of France as Count of Barcelona, was produced in Barcelona during a phase of the Thirty Years War known as the Reapers' War.  It was basically a revolt by the Catalans against Philip IV of Spain, aided by the French under Louis XIII.  This is a provisional coin, produced from 1641 to 1643, with 1642 being the most available. 

I won't go into the detail of this war, whose outcome was the reassertion of Spanish authority.  Here's a link to a detail account:

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reapers'_War

Spain Catalonia, Barcelona, insurrection, 5 reales,1642 (Reapers' War, 1641-1650).

KM# 58; CC 6312

11.72 grams

Obverse: Portrait of Louis XIII facing right. LVD XIII D G REX FRAN ET CO BARCIN,
V R.

Reverse:  Coat of arms and cross, surrounded by six dots and two circles.  BARCINO CIVITAS 1642.

Edited April 23 by robinjojo