1/2 Groat - Philip IV Vic

This piece dates to the Corpus de Sang — the Bloody Corpus — of June 1640, when Catalan reapers murdered the Viceroy of Catalonia and triggered open revolt against Castile. The Principality, seeking a protector, placed itself under French sovereignty in January 1641, recognizing Louis XIII as Count of Barcelona. Coinage issued in Philip IV's name during 1641–1642 occupies an awkward transitional moment: Castilian royal titulature on coins struck by an administration that had effectively renounced Castilian authority.

French military support proved costly and largely ineffective. Barcelona fell to Philip IV's forces in 1652.