I just got my first coin of the spanish king/holy roman emperor/(nearly) universal monarch, Charles V. I saw it at NYINC and it's been nagging at me since, I found out that it was still available, so I bit the bullet and bought it. It's a Quarto di scudo/testone minted in Milan with dies engraved by Leone Leoni, one of the most talented Renaissance artists to work as a die engraver. This coin was one of the first to feature Charles' impressa of the Columns of Hercules, a motif that would become iconic and most closely identified with the "pieces of 8". Unfortunately these blurry photos are the only ones I have at the moment. Quarto di Scudo d'argento (Testone con la colonne), n. d. (1552). Ø 28 mm, 9.09 g. CNI V p.236 n.56; Crippa 11. Obv.: IMP·CAES·CAROLVS·V·AVG - laureated bust, annulet behind the neck. Rev.: the pillars of Hercules stand in the sea and are embraced by a band with the motto "PLVS VLTRA". Charles had coins minted in so many countries and with so many different portraits; it would be great if we could see a whole gallery of them here!
City of Besançon silver Carolus 1542 Silver, 19mm, 1.44gm Obverse: Crowned bust of Charles V facing left / CAROLVS V IMPERATOR Reverse: Arms of the city / MONE CIVI BISVNTINE 1542 Catalog: Roberts 7005 (James N. Roberts, The Silver Coins of Medieval France, 1996) Charles V, as King of Spain, was reported given a golden falcon by the Knights of St. John in return for the island of Malta. Mexico has honored him by naming a candy bar after him, the "Carlos Quinto". Besançon is a city currently part of France. It has been passed around between German states, Spain, and France. It was part of the Holy Roman Empire since 1034 and was designated the Free Imperial City of Besançon in 1184. The city struck coins between 1526 and 1673. I just had to have a coin with Charles V on it after reading Dashiell Hammett's book The Maltese Falcon and now I do.
As a tribute to Charles V, Besançon continued to feature his legend and image on their coins like this thaler from 1660. Sorry, I don't have any examples contemporary to his reign.
