Spain 1844-M CL 4 reales
The specimen shown was lot 371 in Aureo y Calicó sale 233 (Barcelona, April 2011), where it sold for 2,400 euros (about US$3,998 including buyer's fee). The catalog description[1] noted,
"1844. Madrid. CL. 4 reales. Muy bella. Gran parte de brillo original. Rarísima en esta extraordinaria conservación. EBC+. (For reales de vellon, 1844, Madrid mint. Very handsome, much mint luster, very rare in this grade, choice extremely fine.)
The "de vellon" coinage system, used 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: 54,862.
Specification: 5.97 g, 0.812 fine silver, .156 troy oz ASW, 23-24 mm diameter.
Catalog reference: Cayón-17008, KM 519.2, Cal-293.
- 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.
- Krause, Chester L., and Colin R. Bruce II, Standard Catalog of World Coins: Spain, Portugal and the New World, Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2002.
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