Spain 1858-Ba 2 maravedis
This specimen was lot 1183 in Aureo sale 291 (Barcelona, April 2017), where it sold for €50 (about US$64 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"1858. Isabel II. Barcelona. 2 maravedís. Escasa y más así. EBC-. (Spain, Isabel II, two maravedis of 1858, Barcelona mint. Scarce, about extremely fine.)"
The Spanish mints feature large issues of a variety of copper coins which did not circulate at all in the Spanish American colonies. In the predecimal system which obtained until 1847, 34 maravedis = one real of silver. This two maravedis was worth 1/17 of a real; history does not record the reason for the odd division. This type was struck in Jubia, Madrid, Segovia and Barcelona 1837-50 and was accompanied by copper one, four and eight maravedis. The other mints ceased minting this denomination by 1850; we don't know why Barcelona minted this type in 1855 and 1858.
Recorded mintage: unknown; a common date.
Specification: copper, 3.02 g, 18.5-19.5 mm diameter, this specimen 2,30 g.
Catalog reference: Cayón-16586, KM 532.1, Cal. 538.
- 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.
- 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 291: Collección Egara, vol. II y Collección Verdaguer, Barcelona: Aureo y Calicó, 2017.
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