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2 Maravedis - Felipe II Burgos, low grade billon
| Issuer | Spanish Monarchy |
|---|---|
| Year | 1575-1585 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | 20 mm |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Latin |
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| Reverse description | Central device features a rampant lion passant guardant to the right, representing the Kingdom of León, rendered in bold relief consistent with the hammered technique of Philip II's Castilian coinage. The lion is crowned and depicted in a vigorous, stylized heraldic posture with forepaws raised. The design is enclosed within a double or beaded inner circle, portions of which are visible on the irregular flan. The surrounding Latin legend reads +REI·DE·LAS·HESPAÑAS·, proclaiming Philip II as King of the Spains. The flan shows characteristic irregularities, pitting, and surface corrosion consistent with heavily circulated low-grade billon coinage of this period. |
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| Additional information |
Felipe II's billon coinage of the 1570s and 1580s was minted under chronic pressure — the crown's silver revenues from the Americas were increasingly pledged against Genoese banking debt before the bullion even reached Castile, leaving domestic small change perpetually underfunded. The Burgos mint, one of the older royal establishments in Castile, struck these fractional pieces to meet everyday transactional demand that silver reales never served.
Billon of this period degrades unpredictably in the ground, and genuine wear is often indistinguishable from corrosion at lower grades. Cal#779 encompasses several die pairings across this decade-long window, and mint attribution on low-grade survivors frequently relies on the assayer mark rather than the mintmark itself.