Obverse. Photo © NumisCorner.com
  • 10 Centimos 1870, KM# 663, Spain
  • 10 Centimos 1870, KM# 663, Spain
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.

Designer: L. Plañiol
Engraver: Luis Marchionni

Obverse

Hispania seated over the Pyrenees facing right, encircled by dots; "Ten 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.

DIEZ GRAMOS
L•MARCHIONNI
1870

Reverse

Rampant lion holding the oval shield of Spain, OM below all encircled by dots; "One hundred pieces in kilogram" above and "Ten 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)

CIEN PIEZAS EN KILOG•
OM
DIEZ CENTIMOS

Edge

10 Centimos

Provisional Government
KM# 663
Characteristics
Material Bronze
Weight 10 g
Diameter 30 mm
Thickness 1.6 mm
Shape round
Alignment Coin
Mint
Barcelona Mint

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