James II ruled Catalonia and Aragon simultaneously after 1291, having previously been King of Sicily — a Crown he was forced to renounce under the Treaty of Anagni in 1295 in exchange for papal recognition of his Aragonese inheritance. The Barcelona mint operated under strict ordinances during his reign, and the groat denomination itself was relatively new to the Crown of Aragon, introduced as Catalan commerce with Mediterranean trading partners demanded larger silver currency capable of handling wholesale transactions.
The .958 fineness held closely to the standard established under his predecessors, a consistency that gave Barcelona silver a reliable reputation in Genoese and Venetian exchange markets.
James II ruled Catalonia and Aragon simultaneously after 1291, having previously been King of Sicily — a Crown he was forced to renounce under the Treaty of Anagni in 1295 in exchange for papal recognition of his Aragonese inheritance. The Barcelona mint operated under strict ordinances during his reign, and the groat denomination itself was relatively new to the Crown of Aragon, introduced as Catalan commerce with Mediterranean trading partners demanded larger silver currency capable of handling wholesale transactions.
The .958 fineness held closely to the standard established under his predecessors, a consistency that gave Barcelona silver a reliable reputation in Genoese and Venetian exchange markets.