Obol - Peter IV Barcelona

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.