1516, Spain, Catholic Monarchs. Gold Double Excellente.

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1516, Spain, Catholic Monarchs. Gold Double Excellente. A very interesting gold plated contemporary forgery. R! Mint Period: 1476-1516 (here contemporary restrike) Mint Place: Uncertain mint (imitating the Seville issue) Denomination: Double Excellente (contemporary forgery) Rulers: Ferdinand V and Isabel of Spain "Catholic Monarchs". Reference: Friedberg 129. var. (here an old contemporary immitation). R! Conditon: Broken (probably at the time of its first detecting as a gold plated forgery) Material: Thick gold plating on a non-precious metal core. Diameter: 30mm Weight: 4.1gm Reverse: Facing crowned and draped busts of Ferdinand and Isabella. Legend: ...FERNANDVS : ET : ELIS... Obverse: Eagle displayed with crowned royal coat of arms. Legend: SVB... ....ARUMAt your attention a striking and unusual immitative gold double excellente, filled with bronze or iron and coated with a thick sheet of gold. This carefully prepared planchet must have been impressed with well done immitative dies, which resemble the early issues of the original type, which was struck at the Seville mint between 1476-1516. This coin must have been passed as the legal tender, which this type of coins have represented back in the 15th-16th centureis. Usually such pieces were devalued and completely destroyed, after their identification. The small thick sheet of gold led to the preservation of this specimen, which was put away for centuries. This gives us the unique opportunity to own one of only few known specimens, which are now appreciated by commited collectors and numismatists. A very rare and beautiful addition, and an important historical item, even as a forgery! All offered coins are guaranteed to be ancient and as described. ! The Catholic Monarchs (Spanish: los Reyes Católicos ) is the collective title used in history for Queen Isabella I of Castile and King Ferdinand II of Aragon. The title of "Catholic King and Queen" was bestowed on them by the Pope Alexander VI. They married on October 19, 1469, in the city of Valladolid; Isabella was eighteen years old and Ferdinand a year younger. Their marriage united both crowns under the same lineage.Isabella was named heir to the throne of Castile by her half-brother Henry IV of Castile. She became Queen of Castille in 1474. Her husband Ferdinand became the King of Aragon in 1479 and their marriage united the two kingdoms. They were strong leaders who worked to unify Spain physically as well. This was largely achieved after the conquest of Granada in 1492. The birth of Isabella’s son in 1478 consolidated the political stability as it meant a clear line of succession for the Spanish throne.The Catholic Monarchs set out to restore royal authority in Spain. To accomplish their goal, they first created a group named the Holy Brotherhood. These men were used as a judicial police force for Spain. To replace the courts, the Catholic Monarchs created the Royal Council, and appointed chief magistrates (judges) to run the towns and cities. This establishment of royal authority is known as The Pacification of Castile, and can be seen as one of the crucial steps toward the creation of one of Europe's first strong nation-states. Ferdinand and Isabella were noted for being the monarchs of the newly-united Spain at the dawn of the modern era. The Kings had a goal of completing the Christian Reconquest of the Iberian Peninsula and to conquer the Muslim kingdom of Granada. The beginnings of a series of campaigns known as the Granada War began with the attack of Alhama, a city in Andalusia. The attack was led by two Andalusian nobles Rodrigo Ponce de León and Diego de Merlo. The city fell to Andalusian forces in 1492. The Granada War was aided by Pope Sixtus IV by granting the monarchs a tithe and implementing a crusade tax to invest in the war. After 10 years of many battles the Granada War ended in 1492 when the Emir Boabdil surrendered the keys of the Al... read more

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