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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;horge, post: 446140, member: 7167&quot;]Heee heee.....</p><p><br /></p><p>I seem to recall one tale, wherein the Prince of Wales and the Duke of Buckingham were </p><p>guests of King Felipe IV in Madrid. When the Spanish royals and their guests were </p><p>waving to a large crowd of Spanish subjects from a balcony, the Englishmen were </p><p>astonished at the size and beauty of the silver <i>cincuentín</i> coins handed to them, </p><p>and did not immediately understand that the coins were meant for tossing out to the </p><p>crowd below.</p><p><br /></p><p>It was an extravagant display, but with a marriage between England&#039;s and Spain&#039;s </p><p>royals to be negotiated, the Conde-Duque de Olivares (chief minister to King Felipe IV) </p><p>planned the gesture to impress upon the guests that THEY were marrying into wealth, </p><p>and that the dowry should be reasonable. The conde-duque had apparently hedged </p><p>his bets, too. The crowd nearest to the balcony were said to have been all courtiers, </p><p>and the large silver coins tossed to them were recollected into the Treasury afterwards.</p><p><br /></p><p>h.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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