Category: Auctions

Fauna y flora en la moneda iberica

Fauna & Flora in the Iberian Coinage Vol. II

After this short review of our numismatic fauna, we count 47 different elements, without including many of the possible variations… It is also possible that some new animal shows up in the future, above all as a symbol on some reverse…

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What the eye does not see

…the art of coinage, in the periods when modern techniques did not exist, turned these hammered coins into true jewels of art…

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Coins and Bonds from the Canton of Cartagena

The canton needed money in order not to discredit its treasury. They organized the payment by means of bonds, which is the paper money mentioned before. On August 4th they put into circulation bonds for 2.000, 10.000 and 20.000 reales. The distrust towards this kind of money, emphasized by the fact…

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The Importance of Numismatics

So, what do we have to bear in mind, if we decide to start out in numismatics? First, note that anyone can have a numismatic collection. It is not necessary to be a millionaire or own a PhD. But, as in any other discipline, we should have some basic knowledge and, as numismatics covers such a…

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propaganda de metal

Metal Propaganda

The so-called “paper war” between the Hispanic Monarchy and the United Provinces has also been studied from the point of view of communication by the Professor Ingrid Schulze (1), among others. Although this author tells us about the features of…

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“Here’s a handsome prince…”

In January 1506, Philip the Handsome ordered the fleet to set sail from the courts of Brussels to the Kingdom of Castile to be proclaimed king of Castile under the name of Philip I, with his wife Johanna as Queen of Castile, in the Courts of Valladolid…

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una época de transición

A Time of Transition

One significant feature explaining the expansion beyond national borders was the efficiency of the Crown’s army, which was under the orders of Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba, also known as “El Gran Capitán”. He reorganized the military troops, implementing…

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bigas trigas y cuadrigas

Bigae, Trigae & Quadrigae Vol. II

Another fable about Hercules says that after completing the twelve labours ordered by Eurystheus, he left for Calydon as a free man. Once there, he married Deianira and stayed in Calydon until one day, during a banquet, he killed king Oeneus’ nephew by mistake…

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la moneda provincial

Provincial Coinage

Following the end of the war of Spanish Succession in 1713, the new king Philip the fith had to face the problem that Spanish silver and gold coins were exported abroad and melted, as their finesse and weight were…

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Bigae, trigae & quadrigae Vol. I

All of them must have had their own names for these chariots, but the fact is that we kept the etymology developed by the Romans. This is why we speak of quadrigae, trigae and bigae when referring to the chariots of all times pulled by animals…

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Mythical creatures Vol. IV – The dolphin man

The pirates got scared and jumped into the sea, where they turned into dolphins. According to the legend, this explains why dolphins accompany and save shipwreck survivors, as they are the pirates who want to expiate their guilt…

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Caesar’s comet

It is probably the most famous comet in antiquity. It had an absolute light magnitude and it may have been the brightest daylight comet in recorded history…

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Lucius Verus Aureus

The obverse conmemorates this victory and Lucius holds the cognomen of “Armeniacus”, where his contribution to the military matter it´s is question…

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The triumph over the moor

This four reales is made following the Castilian model, but, doubtlessly, the image was put ahead of the need. Very few coins were minted in those days in the Aragonese mint. From the year 1520 to 1547 (this coin’s date) this mint remained inactive…

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August Empress

As her husband ascended to the throne, Faustina the Elder was granted the title Augusta. As an empress, she was highly respected and much beloved for her kindness, as well as her beauty and wisdom…

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King of Majorca

The inscription outside starts with + IA as abbreviation of James and whose free translation would be: James, King of the people from Majorca by God’s Grace. The words are separated by two roses of four petals…

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The cognomen Pius

One of his first actions as emperor was convincing the Senate of granting divine honours to his predecessor, Hadrian, something the senators had refused to do initially. His efforts to persuade the Senate, so that Hadrian was honoured, were the reason why he was given the cognomen Pius…

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The 30 sous of oblivion

The name of Ferdinand VII was not included on the new coin, intentionally or because they had forgotten, the crown reacted, as it could be expected from them. So on December 9th the Council ordered…

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Royal and constitutional symbols

It is an object of emblematic nature in France. It is used as a symbol of the justice, the recognition of a legitimate authority, the power of the people, the Republic and sometimes the revolution…

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The rarest pillar

The royal decree published in November 1751 had ordered that the Mint of Santa Fe worked under the crown’s authority. The machinery capable of producing circular coins and fitted with cordoncillo could not start working until 1756…

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The smallest royal

The piece we are proud to present you, 1/2 real from Mexico, dated 1714, may be the piece with a lower value among the ones of a special series; it is also the second one known of this date…

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Lions and castles

Another anomaly in this 8 escudos from Pedrera, apart from the year 1696, is the position of the value VIII that can be read in vertical from the bottom to the top. All the other Charles II’s 8 escudos…

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Cyzicus and the cereal

This beautiful tetradrachm points out the importance of the cereal for the inhabitants of Mysia in general and Cyzicus in particular. On the obverse, we find Kore Soteira (Persephone), daughter of Zeus and Demeter, embodiment of vegetation…

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“Vascones”

The men portrayed on the coins inspiring this article look rough, have a long thick beard, a large nose and abundant hair in a very particular hairstyle. All these features are shared with other peoples represented in…

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100 pesetas: the only ones

Goverments weren´t interested on putting more gold in a piece with the same interest rate as the rest of the coins from the Union that were equivalent. A possible explanation would reside in the short time the reform was ongoing and the tumultuous period of time when this coining was done…

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Preview Auction 30 Vol. IV

The engraver didn´t bother in cover it up, but he left evidence of his intention in making it that way, or maybe he noticed his fail and corrected it…

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Preview Auction 30 Vol. III

Under the reign of Ferdinand VI, in the middle of 18th Century, the mint of Mexico was suffering numerous inconveniences, as damages produced by earthquakes and others because of the ageing of…

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Preview Auction 30 Vol. II

With the milled coinage also appears, the bust of Ferdinand VI in lieu of Philip´s. There are two types of bust for these coinage, in which three dates are known: 1754, 1755 and…

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Preview Auction 30 Vol. I

The triskel or triskelion is a symbol consisting in three bent human legs. The word comes from the greek triskeles (τρισκελής), which means “three legs”. It is one of the oldest symbols of the humankind. According to some cultures…

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