Spanish / Colonial help?

Weiss

My dealer wasn't sure what it was. To me it looked real(e) enough and the shield reminded me of 1500 - 1600 Spanish cobs. And I thought I could make out Ferdinandus or some Latin version.

It weighs 2.8 grams.

Is it real? Is it Seville? 1 reale? Clipped? Any guess as to value?

Weiss

Nobody? Fine, I'll research it myself :

Hammered silver 1 reale, 1474-1505, of Ferdinand and Isabella, the "Catholic Monarchs"--the joint title used for Queen Isabella I of Castile and King Ferdinand II of Aragon, whose marriage in 1469 united and created modern Spain. First coin struck in Spain.

"FERNANDVS" between 2:00 and 5:00 shield side. The star at 3:00 and the "S" at 9:00 denotes that this piece was minted in Seville.

These pieces are associated with Columbus because they were created by the rulers who financed Columbus at the time of his voyages, and because a version of this coin was struck specifically for use in Santo Domingo, the capital of the Dominican Republic, which was founded by Columbus' younger brother Bartholomew Columbus in 1496.

coachbedford

Hello Weiss,
Surprised nobody weighed in on this...must have slipped through the cracks in these summer doldrums. But yes, you are exactly right and a cool 'Columbus' coin. I have a clipped version. Always thought this was a bizarre coin with the western european shield on one side and the arabic like script on the other.

coachbedford

as for value, I would guess-timate about $50 to $60

Weiss

Thanks! Mine may have been clipped, too. I weighed it again this morning and came up with 2.9 grams. That seems a bit light, though it's still more legible than many of the other examples I've found online.

Apparently lots of fakes out there, too. But most appear to be pretty poorly made reproductions for the tourist market. I'm pretty confident this one is legit. Sounds right, looks right, feels right.

I paid $15 for it. I think it's pretty swell at that price

lordmarcovan

Very cool piece. I looked at it soon after your original posting, but felt I didn't know enough to say anything. Looked OK to me, but what do I know?

As New World history goes, that's hard to beat (even though it technically came from the Old World).

A detectorist found a 4-reales piece of that basic type just north of here in coastal Georgia, leading to some speculation that San Miguel de Gualdape (a very short-lived lost Spanish colony which was the first European settlement in mainland North America) was located nearby.

I've also heard that a gold double-excelente piece of Ferdinand and Isabella was found in an Indian burial here in Brunswick, GA, but unlike the other coin mentioned above, that's just unsubstantiated rumor. It's entirely possible, however.

yosclimber

Here's an apparent non-clippped version:

FERNANDVS ET .ELISAB
REX ET REGINA DHST LEGIO ..IGO
from
http://www.colonialcobs.com/forum/index.php?topic=355.0
The author states these were struck until 1556.