Spain 1838-M CL 20 reales
This specimen was lot 431 in Áureo y Calicó sale 347 (Barcelona, March 2020), where it sold for €1,800 (about US$2,376 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"1838. Isabel II. Madrid. CL. 20 reales. Bella. Brillo original. Muy rara así. S/C-. (kingdom of Spain, Isabel II, twenty reales of 1838, Madrid mint. Handsome, original luster, very rare thus, about uncirculated.)"
This Spanish twenty reales de vellon was struck during the regime of Isabel II (1833-68). This type was struck in Madrid 1837-40 and 1848-49 and is rather expensive. Later twenty reales were struck 1850-64 but to a different standard. 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: 219,903.
Specification: 27.07 g, 0.903 fine silver, .786 troy oz ASW, this specimen 26,83 g.
Catalog reference: KM 579.1, Cayón-17174, Dav-331, AC. 582.
- 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.
- O'Connor, Patrick, The Coins of Queen Isabel II of Spain: A Detailed Study of the Coins, Patterns and Medals of Her Reign, San Antonio, TX: Aurora Rarities, LLC, 2017.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, ‘’Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1801-1900, 9th ed.’’, Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
- [1]Sisó, Teresa, Eduard Domingo and Lluís Lalana, Subasta Publica 347: Seleccion de 500 Monedas, Medallas y Billetes, Barcelona: Áureo y Calicó, 2020.
Link to: