LOT Old Heritage Auctions  /  2008 Jan. New York Signature World Coin Auction ...  / 

52499

Spain Barcelona, gold siege 20 Pesetas 1812,

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money / World Coins - World Start Price:1,750.00 USD Estimated At:2,000.00 - 2,500.00 USD
Spain Barcelona, gold siege 20 Pesetas 1812,
<B>Barcelona, gold siege 20 Pesetas 1812,</B></I> Fr-23, KM-76, struck from 1812-14 for the Napoleonic Wars, AU55 NGC, even wear, no major marks, pleasing two-gold reddish gold toning. Enchanting, simple design. Historic.<BR><BR>Little is known about the origin of this coin with regard to its particulars. Much like the British Military guinea, it was made to pay troops, or to purchase war goods, but unlike the Military guinea it is not certain where it was made or who made it, although certainly it came about during one of the many sieges that pockmarked the Peninsular War after Napoleon Bonaparte approved the "annexation" of Catalonia into his ambitious French empire in January 1812. Spanish patriots across the peninsula responded by engaging in some of history's earliest guerrilla warfare (the term entered the English language from the Spanish <I>guerra de guerrillas</B></I>, which meant "war of little wars"). Spain was allied with Portugal and England against the little dictator. Among other possible origins of this piece was the Duke of Wellington's siege of Ciudad Rodrigo, or Badajoz. These "little wars" continued through 1812 and 1813, culminating in partial victory against Napoleon when an army of allies chased his army through the Pyrenees, although the Peninsular War did not end until 1814. Here then is a fascinating, and quite rare, golden memento of those difficult years.<BR><BR><b>Shipping:</b> Coins & Currency (<a target="_blank" href="http://www.heritageauctions.com/common/shipping.php">view shipping information</a>)
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