That’s right… the Kingdom of Castile & Leon. I hadn’t heard of this kingdom before two weeks ago when I saw what I thought was an interesting looking English medieval coin, like a John or Henry*. After reaching out to (and the gracious help from) CTer @TheRed , he shared with me that it was in fact from medieval Spain, the Kingdom of Castile and Leon. Here is that coin that sparked this conversation, searching, and studying. Kingdom of Castile & Leon Enrique IV, 1454-1474 AD BL Medio Cuartillo, Burgos Mint Obverse: + ENRICVS : CARTVS : DEI : G, around a bust crowned frontally inside a circular border. Reverse: + ENRICVS : REX : CASTELLE, around a castle with B (mint) below, inside a circular border. References: (Does anyone have MEC vol. 6 The Iberian Peninsula???) From Wikipedia: Enrique IV's father died on July 20, 1454 and he was proclaimed king the following day. One of King Enrique’s first priorities was the alliance with Portugal. He achieved this by marrying a second time to Joan of Portugal, daughter of King Edward of Portugal, in 1455. During his reign as king, Enrique IV spent a lot of time at the Royal Alcazar of Madrid where he would stay there for long periods of time. The Royal Alcazar was later replaced with the Royal Palace of Madrid by the rulers of Spain. After the death of the king, war broke out in Castile. Enrique’s half-sister Isabella I became Castile's next monarch. So, only one coin to share, right? Nah… Now that I was (slightly) familiar with these, a week later I was browsing the small 2 shelves of ancients at my local antique store and saw a little cardboard jewelry box with a label “Spanish coins $5”, so I asked the keeper to open the case and I started to peruse the box. I ended up seeing this big one (well bigger than the other one) with a fair amount of sand and dirt in its crevasses, but recognized it’s castle reverse being similar to the larger denomination than the one I had just purchased, plus it had the lobed border. I took it home, did a little cleaning to get the details to show through bent it into shape (was a little off), and did a little more homework on figuring out who it was. Kingdom of Castile & Leon Juan II, 1406-1454 AD AE Blanca, SEVILLA Mint Obverse: + IOhANES : REX : GRACI [an educated guess... any help reading this?], around a bust crowned frontally inside a circular border. Reverse: + IOhANES : REX : GRACI, around a circle that contains a border of 6 lobes (hex-lobe) with a castle inside with S below. References: (Would this one be in MEC vol. 6 The Iberian Peninsula???) From Wikipedia: Juan II's reign, lasting 48 years, was one of the longest in Castilian history, but Juan himself was not a particularly capable monarch. He spent his time verse-making, hunting, and holding tournaments. He was "[T]all and handsome, fair-skinned and slightly ruddy... his hair was the color of a very mature hazelnut, the nose a little snub, the eyes between green and blue... he had very graceful legs and feet and hands." Juan II was the single largest contributor to the continuing construction of the Alcázar of Segovia and built the "New Tower" known today as the "Tower of John/Juan II". (*I found out that I guess these two could also be called Henry (Enrique IV) and John (Juan II) by non-Spanish individuals—I like the original though.)
Nice coins. My Castile & Leon Ferdinand & Isabella (1469 - 1504) SPAIN Castile & Leon (Castilla y Leon) AR 2 Reales FERDANDVS : ET : HELISABET : D : Crowned shield of arms breaking inner beaded circle. + : REX : ET REGINA : CAST : LEGIO : ARAGON Bow and arrows within beaded inner circle Granada Mint. 29mm 6.80g. Cayon 2622
Perish the thought of 'Hank'....... I like Enrique best also. Oh (my word)........thanks for sharing.
Very cool castle coins, I have to get one someday. I wonder if it is any of these castles.........https://www.skyscanner.net/news/15-most-beautiful-castles-spain
haha - I knew someone would do that!!! Oh the '70's!!!!! The best of times, the worst of times.... Must admit I was expecting "Tie the Yellow Ribbon".. - oh wait! that was Tony Orlando and Dawn!! had to Google that - haha
And I'm sorry for hijacking OP's thread...........it's a very nice one. Keep those medieval Spanish coins coming.........
For my title, I actually had to google their names and went right to that youtube video and started listening, copied "TENNILLE" and pasted it in (well made it not all caps), snappin' my fingers.
After wetting your beak with these 15th cent, how about you reach to an earlier age and get one of the most beautiful medieval coins? It's a dinero de seis lineas, minted by Alfonso X "el Sabio" (1252-1284) during la Primera Guerra de Granada (1263-1269) around 1263-1264. More than a few series with this design were minted during the conflict in 2 different billon titles: of cca. 14% and of 7%, which makes these coins quite abundant and accessible to buy in good condition.
Picked up another C&L coin! Philip II (Felipe II) of Spain, ruled 1556 - 1582 AD Æ/BL Blanca (1/2 maravedi), Cuenca mint, 1556-1576 Obverse: Crowned monogram of king (PHIL sharing elements, VS entwined); in left field, patriarchal cross; in right field, chalice with star above; all within dotted circle. Reverse: Three towered castle; in left field, unknown element; in right field C (Cuenca mint mark). Assayer - Pedro Román. References: Cayon 3286, Calico 815 (@Mat has a better castle: https://www.cointalk.com/threads/philip-ii-blanca.270454/)