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1 Real Spain 1738JF

Started by Numii_Anglii, November 26, 2010, 08:25:44 AM

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Numii_Anglii

Philip V 1 Real of Spain (1738), Seville mint. Weight approx. 3 grammes. Silver. VF+ grade?? A neat little coin I recently acquired online, this is also known as a "Croat".

Obverse: Crowned Arms and legend "PHILIPPVS V D G", "R : S" to left and "I : P : J" to right.

P and J stand for assayers Pedro Remigio Gordillo and Jose Antonio Fabra.

Reverse: An octolobe shape containing a cross with castles (Castille) and lions (Leon).

Please appraise my acquisition  8)




Figleaf

Nicely preserved coin, obviously machine-struck. However, that is remarkable by itself. At this time, most Spanish mints still produced weakly struck coin on small (or clipped), irregular planchets. A quick check seems to indicate that only Madrid, Segovia Sevilla and ... Mexico city had modern machinery.

Piddling mistake. The arms divide R and I, which is the denomination (1 real), while S on the left is the mint mark and JF on the right the assayer's mark as indicated.

The heraldry is quite intricate. Heart shield is Borbón (family arms). First quarter is Castilia and Léon (Spain), second quarter is Cataluña and Sicilia, third quarter up Austria (where in reality, Philip's arch-rival reigned), down part of the Burgundy (a French possession by this time) arms and Brabant, fourth quarter up the second part of Burgundy, Flanders and something else. The sketch adds the chain and sign of the golden fleece, that came with the Burgundy title and the chain and sign of the holy ghost.



The key part of the arms is the heart shield. Philip V was a Frenchman, politically controversial and mentally unstable (only mildly, compared to his predecessor).

So why was a real also called a croat? Confusingly, the original croat (3.15 grams) is a coin of Barcelona created in 1285 in the reign of Pedro III. However, the Reyes Catolicos based their silver real (3.35 grams) on the French Gros Tournois (grossus denarius). The name croat was transferred to the new real. I am not sure if in 1738 the name croat was still used.

Peter
An unidentified coin is a piece of metal. An identified coin is a piece of history.

lusomosa

Hi guys,

I like the Way Figleaf mentions the "something els" on the coats of arms ....
In fact the red eagle belongs to Tyrol.

Greetings,

LP