1040 | Spanish Monarchy

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CARLOS II (1665-1700). Tari. (Ar. 5.67g/27mm). 1687. Naples AG-A. (Vicenti 171). Extremely Fine/ Good Extremely Fine. Beautiful patina.

Some historians speak of the existence of Charles II in an “Italian key.” A monarch who would differ in several factors from the same peninsular Charles II or the king of the Indies. The Italian Charles II, his court, his dynasty, is intimately and inextricably linked to the Italian art of the moment. This creates a peculiar relationship between art and power that can be observed in all cultural orders and where numismatics is no exception. The care and beauty with which mint masters and assayers, such as Andrea Giovane and Antonio Ariani, mint these specimens, is therefore no coincidence. Italy, more specifically Naples, had become a true artistic laboratory that sought not only to reach high levels of beauty but also to project a positive image of both the Crown and the king himself. And so we find, for example, these reverses where, in harmony, elements as disparate as a western orb crowned with an intersecting cornucopia and fascia coexist. No new element or one that we do not already know, on the contrary, we find fully consolidated decorative elements (something more traditional in numismatics than a cornucopia or a fascio?) whose objective is none other than to show an air of continuity and positivism to this reign.