Spain 1821-M SR 20 reales
This specimen was lot 25832 in Heritage sale 3026 (Long Beach, October 2013), where it sold for $4,259.38. The catalog description[1] noted, "Ferdinand VII 20 Reales de Vellon 1821-SR Madrid, MS64 NGC, sharply struck features on both sides with aged silvery-gray patina. Very rare date and quality, and a coin with exceptional eye appeal." This Spanish twenty reales de vellon was struck in Madrid during the regime of Fernando VII (1814-33). This type was struck in Madrid 1821-23, Barcelona 1822-23 and Seville 1822-23. Later twenty reales were struck 1833-49. The "de vellon" coinage system, used 1808-50, set twenty reales = one peso instead of the traditional eight. 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.
Recorded mintage: unknown but the key date.
Specification: 27.07 g, 0.896 fine silver, .785 troy oz ASW.
Catalog reference: Cayón-16044, KM 561, Dav-325.
- 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 Felipe VI, 1474 a 2020, Barcelona: Aureo & Calicó, 2019.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1801-1900, 9th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
- [1]Bierrenbach, Cristiano, Warren Tucker and Scott Cordry, Heritage Signature Auction 3026, World & Ancient Coins, featuring the RLM Collection, Part Two, the Nogales Collection and the Goetz Medals Die Archive, Dallas, TX: Heritage Auction Galleries, 2013.
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