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!
Obol - Peter IV Barcelona
| Issuer | Catalonia, Principality of |
|---|---|
| Year | 1336-1387 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Libra |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| 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 royal bust facing left, rendered in a simplified medieval style characteristic of hammered billon coinage. The effigy is contained within an inner beaded circle, with the Latin legend running in the outer annular field between two beaded borders. The crown is prominently depicted atop the monarch's head, serving as the principal identifying element of the design. |
|---|---|
| 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 | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | ND (1336-1387) |
| Additional information |
Peter IV of Aragon — "the Ceremonious" — ruled for over half a century and spent much of it at war: with the Union of Aragon, with Castile during the War of the Two Peters, and with Majorca over the reintegration of that kingdom into the Crown of Aragon. The Barcelona mint operated under considerable fiscal strain throughout, and the billon coinage of this reign reflects chronic silver shortages that forced repeated reductions in fineness across Catalan issues.
The obol, as the half-diner, saw limited use in large transactions but was essential for small commerce in Barcelona's markets. Cru#417 pieces in surviving collections show substantial die variation, a consequence of hand-cut dies and high production turnover across five decades of continuous minting.