Lot 832
Spain. Gold 320 Reales, 1810-RS (Madrid). Fr-300; CCT-2; KM-545. 26.98 grams. Joseph Napoleon, 1808-1814. Filleted head left. Reverse: Crowned arms, Order of Golden Fleece around, the new denomination to the sides of the shield. Centers slightly soft in strike, the fields clean and the portrait generally pleasing, lustrous with brilliant fields. Attractive, old red to brown toning in the recesses. Very rare, and in a quality rarely encountered. NGC graded AU-55.
Here is an example of the larger, new-denomination coin minted in Madrid during the Napoleonic era, when Joseph Napoleon assumed control. Spain's then-current, debased coinage, known as vellón (an alloy of silver and copper), was a continuing source of unutterable confusion in Spanish finance. During Joseph Napoleon's tenure, an attempt was made to organize the currency on a more rational basis, with all coins being some form of reales. The new coinage was minted in 1, 2, 4, 10 and 20 reales, in 90% silver. The higher value 80, 160 and 320 reales gold coins were in a slightly lower quality gold, about 21 karat. Circulation of Napoleonic coinage was limited to Spain. It was not used in the colonies and certainly did not make its way to the United States. With the Revolution the old coinage passed away and was replaced by the decimal system, the peseta and céntimo being equivalent to the French franc and centime. Many prices continued to be quoted in the traditional reales, which were then rated at 25 céntimos (about 5 cents of American money). Virtually no citizen outside of Spain ever saw a large gold coin such as this regal piece.
Estimated Value $15,000 - 20,000.
Illustrated in Money of The World, coin 127.
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| Realized $33,350 |
