Featured Captain & Tennille? No, Castile & Leon!

Discussion in 'Ancient Coins' started by Justin Lee, Aug 17, 2018.

  1. Justin Lee

    Justin Lee I learn by doing

    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.
    CollageMaker_20180815_222650608.jpg
    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:
    Henry_IV_of_Castile_ruled_1454-1474.jpg 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.

    CollageMaker_20180815_222446453.jpg
    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.jpg 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.)
     
    Last edited: Aug 17, 2018
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  3. Mat

    Mat Ancient Coincoholic

    Nice coins.

    My Castile & Leon

    [​IMG]
    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
     
    Last edited: Aug 17, 2018
    randygeki, Andres2, dadams and 8 others like this.
  4. Milesofwho

    Milesofwho Omnivorous collector

    Neat that the mint is Granada. Could that date it to 1492-1504?
     
  5. green18

    green18 Unknown member Sweet on Commemorative Coins Supporter

    Perish the thought of 'Hank'....... devil.gif

    I like Enrique best also.

    Oh (my word)........thanks for sharing. :)
     
  6. Ancient Aussie

    Ancient Aussie Well-Known Member

  7. green18

    green18 Unknown member Sweet on Commemorative Coins Supporter

    I know I'm gonna get a whippin' for this....... devil.gif

     
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  8. Mojavedave

    Mojavedave Senior Member

    I dood it I'm gonna get a whipping. I dood-it anyway. (Red Skelton's mean whittle kid)
     
  9. Clavdivs

    Clavdivs Well-Known Member

    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
     
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  10. green18

    green18 Unknown member Sweet on Commemorative Coins Supporter

    :eek::arghh::yack::wacky::spitoutdummy:
     
  11. green18

    green18 Unknown member Sweet on Commemorative Coins Supporter

    And I'm sorry for hijacking OP's thread...........it's a very nice one. Keep those medieval Spanish coins coming.........
     
  12. Clavdivs

    Clavdivs Well-Known Member

    Yes an excellent coin and write up.
     
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  13. Justin Lee

    Justin Lee I learn by doing

    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.
     
  14. ominus1

    ominus1 Well-Known Member

    ..it takes Juan to know Juan...:p
     
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  15. ominus1

    ominus1 Well-Known Member

    i always liked captain & tennille:singing::cool:
     
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  16. Clavdivs

    Clavdivs Well-Known Member

    Nice!
     
    Last edited: Aug 18, 2018
    Justin Lee likes this.
  17. Justin Lee

    Justin Lee I learn by doing

    So does anyone have the book MEC vol. 6 The Iberian Peninsula?
     
  18. seth77

    seth77 Well-Known Member

    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?


    1269869.jpg

    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.
     
  19. randygeki

    randygeki Coin Collector

  20. Justin Lee

    Justin Lee I learn by doing

    Yea, I LIKE it!!
     
  21. Justin Lee

    Justin Lee I learn by doing

    Picked up another C&L coin!

    CollageMaker_20180907_140914486.jpg
    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/)
     
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