Spain 1851-S RD 2 reales
The specimen shown was lot 323 in Aureo y Calicó sale 233 (Barcelona, April 2011), where it sold for 50 euros (about US$83 including buyer's fee). The catalog description[1] noted,
"1851. Sevilla. RD. 2 reales. Parte de brillo original. MBC+/EBC-. (Two reales "de vellon" of 1851, Seville mint, some luster remaining, Very Fine to Extremely Fine.)"
This type was struck in Madrid and Seville 1844-51. It is among the last of the "de vellon" coinage where twenty reales = one peso of 27.07 grams. In 1850, the twenty reales was reduced to 26.91 grams and the copper maravedis dropped in favor of 1/20, 1/10 and 1/5 reales. Unfortunately, the government, financially prostrate as usual, was unable to remint the old coins, which continued to circulate as before. The coinage would be reformed a second time in 1866.
Recorded mintage: unknown but a better date.
Specification: 2.70 g, 0.903 fine silver, .078 troy oz ASW, 18.1-18.3 mm diameter.
Catalog reference: Cayón-16904, KM 526.2, Cal. 379.
- 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.
Link to: