Spain 1867S-OM 1 centimo de escudo Queen Isabel II NGC MS65BN

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Item Description

This item is part of a Special Collection 

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1867S        1 céntimo de escudo

Spain

Queen Isabel II

Seville mint

obv: Ringlet Head Right

rev: Crowned Oval Arms - with OM

The 3rd Decimal 1 céntimo de escudo consists of two types: without OM and with OM. The 1 céntimo de escudo was issued in moderate quantities without the OM mark before Oeschger Mesdach & Co. began producing them in large quantities with the OM mark appearing beneath the shield on the reverse.

This particular coin is a beautiful chocolate brown with hints of lustrous red. An excellent example of the type with exceptional eye appeal.

NGC MS65BN

Exceptional Eye Appeal

Among the finest known examples.

Top Pop 1/0 at NGC (no others graded)

and Pop 0/0 at PCGS (none graded)

very scarce in circulated grades, 

extremely rare in uncirculated grades

(based on Rarity estimates in The Coins of Queen Isabel II)

Æ 18mm 12h Edge: plain

O’Connor p.142 1CE-1867S-OM

ex Lissner; ex O’Connor Collection

In the late 1850's and early 1860's an influx of foreign investment combined with Spanish military victories in northern Africa dramatically improved the morale of Spain. Nationalism and prosperity were on the rise.

However, Spain's many revisions of its coinage continually failed to prevent export of its silver coins. Despite reducing the purity and weight in 1848 and again in 1854 the silver 20 reales coins still contained more silver than the 25 gram French 5 francs which were used interchangeably in commerce. Enterprising persons could exchange French 5 franc coins or 100 reales gold coins for an equal face value of Spanish 20 reales silver coins and make a profit simply by moving them from one place to another. All the better if the current gold to silver exchange ratio was favorable. Repeating the process several times was quite lucrative. However, it was devastating to Spain's limited supply of silver and to routine commerce. Average citizens of Spain were left with fewer and fewer coins with which to conduct daily business. Since very little paper money was issued by Spanish banks relative to the supply of coin, what coins remained were used to exhaustion. And despite efforts of Spanish government to ban foreign coins, the coins of France and other countries continued to circulate in Spain.

By 1864 officials from several countries in Europe were meeting to discuss standardization of coinage to facilitate trade and combat the problems of having different gold to silver exchange ratios. The Latin Monetary Union was formed in 1865 among France, Belgium, Italy, and Switzerland. It standardized the exchange ratio of gold to silver and established coin specifications based on the existing French coins. Based on this, the correct weight of a 5 franc or 20 reales coin to make them directly interchangeable would be 25.0g at 0.900 fine yielding 22.5g of pure silver.

A royal decree of 26 June 1864 introduced the escudo as the primary monetary unit of Spain and began the Third Decimal period. This was the perfect opportunity to again revise the specifications of Spain's silver duro to match the specifications of the French 5 franc, thus preventing export of these large silver coins. Sadly, that did not occur. The decree was the first in Spain to specify coin weights in grams rather than "marco". It slightly reduced the weight of the 1 escudo (which replaced the 10 reales) and reduced the purity of smaller silver coins. However, the silver 2 escudos replaced the 20 reales at…exactly the same purity and weight as before. As a result, the 2 escudos and 1 escudo coins continued to be exported.

As the French 5 franc had been a 25.0 gram 0.900 fine coin for decades the Spanish government's repeated failure to match the 20 reales coin to the weight and purity of the 5 franc is puzzling. The Spanish silver duro had been the world standard for so long that one wonders if something as simple as national pride may have continually prevented Spanish ministers from taking the more logical course of action.

After the revolution of 1868 and Isabel's departure for France a provisional government was formed that would soon revise the coinage system again. This new coinage system would establish the peseta as the standard unit of account. Five pesetas was equivalent to 2 escudos and the new 5 peseta coins were finally made equal in weight and purity to the French 5 franc coins.

The coins of the 3rd Decimal period (1864-1868) include:

Bronze:  1/2, 1, 2+1/2, 5 céntimos de escudo

Silver:     10, 20, 40 céntimos de escudo, 1 and 2 escudos

Gold:      2, 4, 10 escudos

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