Spain 1881-MS M 25 pesetas (81)
The early coinage of Spain is familiar: 8 reales = 1 peso; 2 pesos = 1 escudo. During the Napoleonic period, the real was devalued such that one peso = 20 reales de vellon. This was reformed in 1850 and again in 1864. In 1870, with the collapse of the monarchy, the reales, pesos and escudos were dropped in favor of centimos and pesetas conforming to the Latin Monetary Union. This specimen was lot 1151 in Aureo y Calicó sale 246 (Barcelona, September 2012), where it sold for 282 € (about US$428 including buyer's fees). The catalog[1] noted,
"1881*1881. Alfonso XII. MSM. 25 pesetas. Leves golpecitos. Bella. Brillo original. EBC+. (Alfonso XII, twenty-five pesetas, Madrid mint, light nicks, nice, original luster, extremely fine plus.)"
This type, struck 1881-86, is common enough to sell as a bullion coin. After 1889, Spain struck twenty pesetas on the same module as French twenty francs d'or.
Recorded mintage: 4,366,000 (most common date).
Specification: 8.064 g, 0.900 fine gold, .233 troy oz AGW.
Catalog reference: Fr-344, Cayón-17533, KM 687, Cal. 14.
- 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.
- Friedberg, Arthur L. and Ira S. Friedberg, Gold Coins of the World, From Ancient Times to the Present, 9th ed., Clifton, NJ: Coin and Currency Institute, 2017.
- 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 Numismática, Barcelona: Aureo y Calicó Subastas, 2012.
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