Монети на претендента за испанския престол Карлос III (1701–1714) от Историческия музей „Искра“–Казанлък
Coins of the Pretender to the Spanish Throne Carlos III (1701–1714) from the Museum of History “Iskra”–Kazanlak

Summary/Abstract: The numismatic fund of the Iskra Historical Museum–Kazanlak contains 6 2-real coins. These coins were minted during the War of Spanish Succession (1700–1714), which broke out after the death of the last representative of the Spanish branch of the Habsburg Dynasty, Charles II (1665–1700). They were minted in the Barcelona mint by the pretender to the Spanish throne, Charles III (1701–1714), who faced Philip of Bourbon, Duke of Anjou, who would ultimately emerge victorious in the conflict and rule as King Philip V (01.11.1700–15.01.1724; 06.09.1724–09.07.1746). The coins, the subject of this study, originate from the County of Catalonia, i.e. from the territories that remained loyal to the Austrian Archduke Charles. Most of the coins were minted in 1711, i.e. they date from the period immediately before or even after the time of his departure from Barcelona. The coins were recorded in the Museum’s Inventory Book on 2 August 1981, with a note stating that they were from an unknown location. In fact, they were inventoried together with several hundred late medieval and Renaissance silver coins from the 16th–18th centuries. The majority of them are various types of thalers from the 17th century. The 6 coins presented here are among the very few struck. All belong to Type 6 according to the older classification and to Type 9 of the newer and more detailed catalogue edited by Javier Calico. In “Krause’s’’ catalogue they are presented in a separate column – “Pretender coinage”. Due to the perforation, as well as wear, they are significantly lighter than the theoretical weight of 5.50 g. I am not aware of similar coins published from the territory of Bulgaria. Some of the coins analysed herein have deposits of unclear origin (but not from soil) upon their surfaces. All are pierced, but the possibility that this was intended to be included as part of a piece of jewellery seems to me very unlikely for at least several reasons – the holes are very irregular in shape, made without any care and with a crude and inappropriate tool, probably a hammered nail. Furthermore, they are pierced in a way that does not allow them, if sewn onto fabric or strung, to be correctly oriented with respect to the images and inscriptions. Based on the analysis of these coins, as well as thanks to my previous research, I remain confident that the piercing of the majority of coins during this period is related to other reasons, for example their deliberate destruction in order to prevent them from entering circulation.

• Details
• Contents