Ah, Isabel. This Laureate Head Right design by Luis Marchionni is my favorite of the whole Isabel II era (along with the Draped Laureate Bust as seen in my avatar). In 1858 Isabel was 28 years old and quite enjoying her power. Thanks to a brief period of cooperation among the many political factions in her government in the late 1850s and early 1860s the people of Spain were enjoying some economic prosperity and rapid development of infrastructure in the country. Sadly, that would all go awry in the mid 1860s and Isabel II would flee the country in 1868.
Spanish silver coins of this era included 1, 2, 4, 10, and 20 reales with the 4 reales seeing considerable service in everyday transactions. The six pointed star identifies the Madrid mint.
The silver 4 reales of this type are generally encountered with some amount of cleaning. It's hard for me to be certain from your photos, but if it does, in fact, have original surfaces then it is quite a find. Even if not, then I'm sure you can appreciate the beauty of the design and colorful toning.
Auction records from the past several years indicate that a problem free example of this date/mint is valued thus: VF $60, EF $120, AU $170, MS62 $225, MS64 $300.
My hope is that you're as enamored of the design as I am and that you'll add this to your core collection. Perhaps even add other Isabel II pieces over time. However, if you do someday decide to sell it, please let me know as Isabel II is my collecting focus.
Thanks so much for posting an Isabel II piece!
Posted 01/24/2017 1:43 pm
