Spain 1848-M CL 20 reales
This specimen was lot 646 in Aureo y Calicó sale 261 (Barcelona, July 2014), where it sold for €170 (about US$273 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"1848. Isabel II. Madrid. CL. 20 reales. Escasa. BC+/MBC-. (Isabel II, 1833-68, twenty reales of 1848, Madrid mint. Scarce, fine to about very fine.)"
This Spanish twenty reales de vellon was struck in Madrid during the early years of Isabel II(1833-68). This type was struck in Madrid 1837-40 and 1848-49 and Seville 1842 only. The "de vellon" coinage system, used 1808-50, set twenty 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. In 1850 the currency was decimalized and the twenty reales reduced to 26.91 grams.
Recorded mintage: 67,000 (a common date).
Specification: 27.07 g, .896 fine silver, .785 troy oz ASW.
Catalog reference: Cayón-17180, Cal. 166, KM 579.1, Dav-331.
- 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.
- 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.
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