Spain 1841-B PS 4 reales
The specimen shown was lot 345 in Aureo y Calicó sale 233 (Barcelona, April 2011), where it sold for 200 euros (about US$333 including buyer's fee). The catalog description[1] noted,
"1841. Barcelona. PS. 4 reales. Parte de brillo original. Bella. Rara así. EBC. (Four reales de vellon, 1841, Barcelona mint. Handsome, some mint luster, rare thus, extremely fine.)
The "de vellon" coinage system, used in Spain 1808-50, set 20 reales = 1 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. The type was struck 1838-49 at Barcelona, Madrid and Seville.
Recorded mintage: unknown but common.
Specification: 5.97 g, 0.812 fine silver, .156 troy oz ASW, 23-24 mm diameter.
Catalog reference: Cayón-16993, KM 519.1, Cal-264.
- 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.
- 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.
- [1]Sisó, Teresa, Eduardo Domingo and Lluís Lalana, COLECCIÓN ANASTASIA DE QUIROGA, Barcelona: Aureo y Calicó Subastas, 2011.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1801-1900, 9th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
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