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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;John Anthony, post: 2249991, member: 42773&quot;]Here&#039;s a coin I bought from Nick Molinari over at FORVM some months ago. I simply liked how it looked, and tossed it into the box for future research.</p><p><br /></p><p>This is a <b><i>blanca</i></b> (1/2 maravedi, or the smallest bronze denomination) of Philip II of Spain, 1556-1581. The castle is the symbol of Castile. Both sides of the coin have a cross with two crossbeams, described as a <i>patriarchal cross</i>.</p><p><br /></p><p>There is part of a C in the right obverse field, for Cuenca mint. (The other choices are B for Burgos, V for Corunna, F for Granada - and confusingly also for Valladolid which also used A, D for Segovia and MT or TM for Toledo.) So it has to be Cuenca. The symbol in the right reverse field is described as a chalice.</p><p><br /></p><p>The king&#039;s monogram is particularly interesting, a combination of P, H, I, and L sharing elements, with V and S entwined - so in fact, all the letters of his name are included. I didn&#039;t know anything about this coin when I bought it, but it seems to be in an unusually high grade for the type. I found many, many very ratty ones.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]445057[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p><b>Philip II of Spain, AD 1556-1582</b></p><p>AE Blanca (1/2 maravedi), 14mm, 1.1g, 8h; Cuenca mint, 1556-1576.</p><p>Obv.: Castle (symbol of Castile); in left field, patriarchal cross; in right field C (Cuenca mint mark).</p><p>Rev.: Crowned monogram of king (PHIL sharing elements, VS entwined); in left field, patriarchal cross; in right field, chalice with two small crosses.</p><p>Reference: to be determined.</p><p>Notes: <i>ex-Nick Molinari.</i>[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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