Spain 2 Centimos 1870

History

Obverse. Photo © Numismatic Guaranty Company

Description

The Provisional Government (1868–1871) was a Provisional Government formed in Spain between the overthrow of Queen Isabella II of Spain on 30 September 1868 after the Glorious Revolution, and the inauguration of the new King Amadeo I of Spain before the Cortes on 2 January 1871.

In 1868, the monarchy was overthrown. The old regime, marred by corruption and scandal and unable to quell rebellions in Catalonia and Cuba, was little mourned. The new government, unable to find a prince willing to accept the throne, established a republic and designed new coins. The system, reformed in 1850 and 1865, was reformed again to conform to the French model. The peso was reduced to 25 grams and set equal to five pesetas with each peseta divisible into 100 centimos. This system would prevail until the coming of the euro.

This type was produced in prodigious numbers, all dated 1870. As this far exceeds what the Barcelona mint could produce in a year, this coin must have been produced over several years.

Obverse	Nature (hill, river etc.) Mountain Symbol, amulet, talisman Hispania Hispania seated over the Pyrenees facing right, encircled by dots; "Two grams" above and date 1870 below. Hispania was the Roman and Greek name for the Iberian Peninsula. The allegory of Hispania is the national personification of Spain. The first representation of Hispania appeared during the Roman Republic as the head of a woman with the legend HISPAN, and was minted in Rome by the Roman family Postumia (81 B.C.). Since then different coins emerged with allegorical representations of Hispania with different characteristics during the entire Roman era. Engraver: Luis Marchionni DOS GRAMOS 1870 L•M•
Reverse	Animal (fish, bird, mammal etc.) Lion Coat of arms Spain Military Shield Rampant lion holding the oval shield of Spain, OM below all encircled by dots; "Five hundred pieces in kilogram" above and "Two centimos" below. The Spanish coat of arms is composed of six other arms: castle of Castile, lion of León, stripes of Aragon, chains of Navarre, pomegranate flower of Granada and fleur-de-lis of the House of Bourbon. The escutcheon represents the currently reigning dynasty Bourbon-Anjou. Assayer mark: OM (Oeschger Mesdach & Co, Strasbourg, France) Mint mark: 8-pointed star (Barcelona Mint) QUINIENTAS PIEZAS EN KILOG• OM DOS CENTIMOS OM
Edge	Plain