Sicily (1282-85) pierreale
This specimen was lot 1574 in Jean Elsen sale 162 (Brussels, June 2025), where it sold for €190 (about US$263 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"ITALIE, SICILE, Constance et Pierre d'Aragon (1282-1285), AR pierreale. Classe A. D/ Aigle éployée, t. à d., dans un polylobe cantonné d'annelets. R/ Écu d'Aragon dans un polylobe cantonné d'annelets. (Italy, kingdom of Sicily, Constance and Peter of Aragon, 1282-85, silver pierrale, class A. Obverse: eagle displayed, head right, within a polylobe cantonned with annulets; reverse: arms of Aragon within a polylobe cantonned with annulets. Very Fine.)
Constance de Hohenstaufen était la fille de Manfred, roi de Sicile, et la petite-fille de l'empereur Frédéric II. Elle épousa en 1262 Pierre, l'héritier du puissant royaume d'Aragon, mais cette alliance ne lui permit pas de s'opposer à la conquête de la Sicile par Charles d'Anjou, de 1266 à 1268. Les Angevins ayant été chassés lors des Vêpres Siciliennes, Constance et Pierre d'Aragon furent proclamés reine et roi de Sicile en 1282. Leur règne fut bref, Pierre d'Aragon mourut en novembre 1285. La couronne de Sicile passa à son fils Jacques Ier. Constance survécut 17 ans à son époux et mourut à Barcelone en 1300. (Constance of Hohenstaufen was the daughter of Manfred, King of Sicily, and the granddaughter of Emperor Frederick II. In 1262, she married Peter, heir to the powerful Kingdom of Aragon, but this alliance did not allow her to prevent the conquest of Sicily by Charles of Anjou, from 1266 to 1268. With the Angevins driven out by the Sicilian Vespers, Constance and Peter of Aragon were proclaimed Queen and King of Sicily in 1282. Their reign was brief; Peter of Aragon died in November 1285. The crown of Sicily passed to his son James I. Constance outlived her husband by 17 years and died in Barcelona in 1300.)"
The Aragonese ruled Sicily until the death of Ferdinand of Aragon in 1516. A gold pierreale exists (Fr-654).
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: silver, this specimen 3,22 g.
Catalog reference: Spahr 10; M.E.C. XIV, 757.
- Grierson, Philip, Coins of Medieval Europe, London: B. A. Seaby Ltd., 1991.
- [1]Elsen, Philippe, et al., Vente Publique 162: Collection Jacques Druart, Brussels: Jean Elsen et ses Fils S.A., 2025.
Link to:
- Sicily (1266-82) tari d'oro Fr-142 Brindisi mint
- Sicily (1266-82) reale d'oro Fr-653 Charles of Anjou
- Sicily (1266-82) 5 tari d'oro Fr-653a Charles of Anjou
- Naples (1277-85) saluto d'argento, Charles d'Anjou
- Naples (1277-85) salut d'or Fr-808, Charles d'Anjou
- Sicily (1285-96) pierreale d'argento, James I
- Coins and currency dated 1282