Groat - James II Barcelona

James II ruled Catalonia — and simultaneously the Crown of Aragon — during a period of aggressive Mediterranean expansion, including the contested acquisition of Sicily and the extraordinary Aragonese Company's campaigns into Byzantine territory. The Barcelona groat emerged from this reign as part of a deliberate monetary modernization, modeled on the Venetian grosso and French gros tournois that were reshaping European silver coinage in the late thirteenth century. Catalonia's commercial network, anchored in Barcelona and stretching across the western Mediterranean, demanded a heavier, reliable silver denomination that petty billon could not support.

The .958 fineness held with unusual consistency through this reign — a point of mercantile trust that distinguished Barcelonan issues from contemporaries who debased quietly.