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1 Denaro - John II
| Issuer | Sicily, Kingdom of |
|---|---|
| Year | 1458-1479 |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Obverse description | Within a raised inner circle, a crowned eagle displayed facing, rendered in crude hammered style characteristic of medieval Sicilian coinage. The eagle's wings are spread and its body faces right, with details worn but discernible against the flat field. A circular Latin legend surrounds the inner circle, reading partially as + IOANNES : DEI : G, interrupted by the irregular flan. The overall strike is typical of low-denomination hammered copper issues of the Aragonese period in Sicily. |
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| Reverse description | Within a raised inner circle, the pales of Aragon — a shield displaying vertical bars characteristic of the Aragonese coat of arms — occupies the central field. The shield is surmounted by a cross at its apex, and is rendered in bold, if somewhat crude, relief consistent with hammered copper coinage of the period. A circular Latin legend surrounds the inner circle, reading + REX: SICILIE, identifying the issuer as King of Sicily. The flan is irregular in shape, as is typical of fifteenth-century Sicilian denari. |
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| Additional information |
John II of Aragon held Sicily through a regency arrangement of unusual complexity — the island was technically governed by his son Ferdinand (later "the Catholic") from 1468, yet coinage continued to be struck in John's name until his death in 1479. The denaro at this weight represents the terminal degradation of a denomination that had shed nearly all its silver content across the preceding two centuries of Sicilian monetary debasement.