Spain 1871-DE M 5 pesetas (73)
This specimen was lot 705 in Aureo sale 261 (Barcelona, July 2014), where it sold for €325 (about US$521 with buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"1871*1873. Amadeo I. DEM. 5 pesetas. Leves golpecitos. Rara. MBC-/MBC. (Amadeo I, 1871-73, five pesetas of 1873. Light nicks, rare, about very fine.)"
The ouster of the monarchy in 1868 failed to bring stability to Spain. A short-lived republic yielded to the rule of Amadeo I, a prince from Italy who, finding nobody willing to listen to his suggestions, abdicated in 1873 and returned to Italy. In 1874, Isabel's son Alfonso was invited to assume the crown and coins were issued in his name. In 1869, the peso was reduced to 25 grams and set equal to five pesetas with each peseta divisible into 100 centimos. This system would prevail until the coming of the euro. This design was struck in large numbers 1871-75 and is fairly common in grades up to Very Fine; this date is rare despite the large mintage. The actual date is not the "1871" below Amadeo's bust but the tiny "18-73" in the obverse stars.
Recorded mintage: 2,870,000.
Specification: 25 g, 0.900 fine silver, reeded edge.
Catalog reference: Cayón-17449, KM 666, Cal. 9, Dav-337.
- 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.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1801-1900, 9th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
- [1]Sisó, Teresa, Eduardo Domingo and Lluís Lalana, Subasta Pública 261, Barcelona: Aureo y Calicó Subastas, 2014.
Link to:
- 1871 5 pesetas
- 1873 peseta
- 1873 2 pesetas
- 1874 5 pesetas
- Coins and currency dated 1873
- return to coins of Spain