951 | Spanish Monarchy

Automatically generated translation

CATALONIA NAPOLEONICA (1808-1814). 5 Pesetas. (Ar. 26.78g / 40mm). 1810. Barcelona. (Cal-2019-46). Very Fine.

Perhaps the minting of this type of currency is just another attempt to add confusion, even more so, to the already complex situation that plagued the country in the early years of the 19th century. A different currency, one more differentiating element between Catalonia in the French spotlight and the rest of Spain. In this way, between 1808 and 1814 emissions in copper, silver and gold were carried out. The style of these Catalan mintings imitated that of the coins issued in France during the Consulate and they all have in common the laureate shield of Barcelona on the obverse. Curiously, in none of them is the name of José Napoleón or the Bonaparte mentioned and paradoxically also, they were minted under the name of Pesetas, the name that a few years later became the official name throughout the country.