Mystery Hammered Silver Coin- Can Anyone Identify?

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Author	Replies: 6 / Views: 8,583
mysilveryears Pillar of the Community United States 1888 Posts	Posted 02/01/2015 3:45 pm I bought this coin recently because it's old, I thought it looked 'neat', and it was inexpensive. I think I can read 'FERNANDUS' on one side but everything else is tricky. I know from experience there is some amazing knowledge on this site. Can anyone pin this one down to jurisdiction, approximate age, denomination, and/or decipher the inscriptions and symbols? It is ~26 mm in diameter and weighs 3.34 grams. Thanks for any help! -msy Report this Post to the Staff

philadelphian Pillar of the Community United States 3253 Posts	Posted 02/01/2015 4:55 pm The "Reyes Catolicos," Ferdinand and Isabella (FERNANDVS ET HELIS). As the sponsors of Columbus, their coins are counterfeited frantically, though. REX (or REI) ET REGINA CAST LIGI. (King and Queen of Castile and Leon), and I believe that's a G inside the bottom circle on the reverse, for the Granada mint. Edited by philadelphian 02/01/2015 5:06 pm Report this Post to the Staff
Sap Moderator Australia 16826 Posts	Posted 02/01/2015 5:07 pm It certainly isn't the usual, run-of-the-mill badly rendered brass counterfeit that we see all too often posted on the forum. If you do a forum search for "reyes catolicos", you'll find three pages of threads... and all but one or two of the coins in them are replicas. This one, however, looks genuine to me, though I'm far from an expert in the series. The hole punched through it is certainly convincing. The "6" underneath the bow and arrows is the mintmark, I believe, though again I'm not familiar enough with the series to tell you which mint it belongs to. Don't say "infinitely" when you mean "very"; otherwise, you'll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite. - C. S. Lewis Report this Post to the Staff
Medieval Pillar of the Community 3772 Posts	Posted 02/01/2015 5:10 pm From the arms and the inscription I assume it is from Ferdinand II of Aragon as ruler of Castille. Report this Post to the Staff
mysilveryears Pillar of the Community United States 1888 Posts	Posted 02/01/2015 5:31 pm Thank you! I think that information tells me what I wanted to know. It's a late 1400's-early 1500's coin, Spanish in origin, with a significant historical connection. It is not a fake.. pretty easy to tell in-hand that it's genuine. I own less than half a dozen hammered silver coins. This is one to be cherished. You folks are indeed amazing. Report this Post to the Staff
Pistareen Valued Member United States 309 Posts	Posted 02/01/2015 5:43 pm Great find! It looks to me like a one real of Granada, Spain of Ferdinand and Isabella. She was "that" Isabella who sponsored Christopher Columbus to take a trip to the ends of the Earth. It has no date. The shield side is the obverse. Read the legend beginning with FERNANDVS ET ELISABET. The reverse features the oxen yoke to the left, symbol of Ferdinand next to the quiver of arrows to the right, symbol of Elisabeth (Isabella). What looks like the numeral"6" I think in a Gothic "G" for Granada. By type it lists in Las Monedas Espanoles by Adolfo, Clemente y Juan Cayon as type 2524 No Date, Granada, Dos cruces en forma de estrella with a book value of 5000 Spanish Pesetas. This is some years ago when the reference book was published, and I leave it to you to do the foreign currency exchange to see what that value equals in U.S. dollars. That book price is for a VF no problem coin, and yours has a small hole used to string coins together to keep them from loss, before the age of the trousers pocket. Still, it could have passed through Christopher Columbus' hands. By the way, it dates to before the year 1504! (Los Reyes Catolicos ruled "the Spains" from 1469 - 1504) Report this Post to the Staff
coinworldtv Pillar of the Community Austria 566 Posts	Posted 02/01/2015 6:06 pm Nice one! Report this Post to the Staff
	Replies: 6 / Views: 8,583

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