Minelab EXII. Tesoro Tigershark, eyeballs to bloody fingers
573
Re: Is this Spanish or French?
Yes, It is Spanish.
Not the best photo, but looks like a Maravedi(s) and I believe it a gothic style f not a P.
there are letters to the very left and right what are they? the right side, is that a C ?
there should be one to the left also.....this will help identify the mint.
Dates approx. to 1474-1504....
and then again...I coulds be wrong
Thanks for the response. There may be something like a 'C' to the right. Here is another pic. Note the letters at the top. I see an S, B, T. First I thought that there were numbers 587, but they are letters.
The coin is a Ferdinand and Isabella vellon "blanca" (catholic kings). Blanca was a 1/2 maravedi. These coins don't have a date but were produced between 1474-1504 just as Trez said above.
There were several mints and this one may be Cuenca (C). I thought it could be Granada (G) but the 'F' looks more like the Cuenca 'F'. The initials 'F' is for Ferdinand and the other side has a 'Y' for Ysabel.
My coin is about 20mm by 17mm.
The legends on the front and back should read:
FERNANDVS ET ELISABET
REX ET REGINA CAST LEGION
I know that at least three mints produced the 'blanca': Cuenca, Toledo and Burgos. There are at least seven different varieties of the coin; here are three:
Cuenca: Obv: Crowned "F" with 'star' of 6 points to left and "C" to right
Rev: Left of 'Y' is similar star, and letter "C" to right
Toledo: Obv: M to left T to right of "F".
Rev: No letter or star to left or right of 'Y'.
Burgos: Obv: No letter or star to left or right of 'F'.
Rev: "B" under "Y", with small tripod devices to left and right of "Y".
I have found at least six mints for the "blancas" (old copper) coins. In addition to the Cuenca, Toledo, and Burgos that you mentioned, I found Sevilla, Segovia, and Granada. There are more than one variety in each of these mints. Here are two photos. The first is Granada and then Segovia.