Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
Dinero - Alfonso VIII knight
| Issuer | Castile, Kingdom of |
|---|---|
| Year | 1163 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | 0.9 g |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Crowned equestrian figure of King Alfonso VIII advancing to the right, depicted in the characteristic Castilian dinero style with a stylized horse in full stride. The king holds an olive branch or palm frond in his raised right hand, a motif associated with regal authority and peace. The design is rendered in a primitive yet expressive hammered relief typical of 12th-century Iberian coinage. A beaded inner border frames the central device, with the mint name TOLE (for Toledo) inscribed in the lower field or along the coin's margin. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Plain |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
Alfonso VIII came to the Castilian throne as a child of three in 1158, triggering years of regency conflict as the Lara and Castro noble factions effectively kidnapped and controlled him in turns. Coinage struck under his name during the early 1160s reflects that fractured authority — multiple issuing points and inconsistent billon alloy suggest decentralized production rather than a coordinated royal mint policy.
The AB#179 reference places this among the earliest attributable issues of his reign, predating the consolidation of royal power he achieved after personally assuming governance around 1169.