Spain 1813-M RN 20 reales
This specimen was lot 553 in Aureo y Calicó sale 261 (Barcelona, July 2014), where it sold for €221 (about US$355 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"1813. José Napoleón. Madrid. RN. 20 reales. Golpecitos. Rara. (MBC-). (Joseph Napoleon, 1808-14, twenty reales of 1813, Madrid mint. Nicked, rare, about very fine.)"
This Spanish twenty reales de vellon was struck in Madrid during the regime of José Napoleon, the French emperor's older brother. The "de vellon" coinage system, used 1808-50, set twenty reales = 1 peso instead of the traditional eight. This type is also known from Barcelona and Seville. The coins minted using that standard were not marked in any way different from the concurrent eight reales standard, a source of confusion for collectors today, It must have been a major irritant for the inhabitants of the time. This is a scarce date, struck as José Napoleon was packing his bags to return to France.
Recorded mintage: 68,000.
Specification: 27.07 g, 0.903 fine silver, .786 troy oz ASW.
Catalog reference: Cayón-14718, Cal. 31, KM 551.2, Dav-308.
- Cayón, Adolfo, Clemente Cayón and Juan Cayón, Las Monedas Españolas, del Tremis al Euro: del 411 a Nuestros Dias, 2 volumes, Madrid: Cayón-Jano S.L., 2005.
- Calicó, Xavier, Numismática Española: Catálogo General con Precios de Todas las Monedas Españolas Acuñadas desde Los Reyes Católicos Hasta Juan Carlos I, 1474 a 2001, Barcelona: Aureo & Calicó, 2008.
- Friedberg, Arthur L. and Ira S. Friedberg, Gold Coins of the World, From Ancient Times to the Present, 9th ed., Clifton, NJ: Coin and Currency Institute, 2017.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1801-1900, 9th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
- [1]Sisó, Teresa, Eduardo Domingo and Lluís Lalana, Subasta Pública 261, Barcelona: Aureo y Calicó Subastas, 2014.
Link to:
- 1812-M 20 reales
- 1812-S 20 reales
- 1812-M 80 reales
- 1812-M 320 reales
- 1813-M IJ 2 reales
- 1813-M GJ 2 reales
- 1813-M 4 reales de vellon
- 1813-M 10 reales
- 1813-M IJ 8 reales
- 1813-M IG 8 reales
- 1813-C SF 8 reales
- 1813-M 80 reales
- Barcelona 1813 20 pesetas
- 1813-C CJ 2 escudos, Cadiz mint
- Spain 1813-M GJ 2 escudos
- 1813-C 2 escudos, Cataluña mint
- 1813-C 8 escudos
- Coins and currency dated 1813
- return to Spanish pre-decimal coinage (maravedis, reales and escudos)