Sale: CNG 75, Lot: 1337. Estimate $300.  Closing Date: Wednesday, 23 May 2007.  Sold For $650. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

SPAIN, Reino de España. Fernando VII. First reign, 1808. AR 5 Pesetas (26.66 g, 12h). Tarragona mint. Dated 1809. 5. PS / FER VII. / 1809. in three lines, each within individual incuse; all within garland border / Crowned coat of arms within garland border. ME 15812; Mailliet 1.3. VF, lightly toned.

Tarragona, on the northeastern coast of Spain, lies in Catalonia, an area that was especially troublesome for the French during Napoleon’s invasion of Spain in the Peninsular War (1808-1814). As the French troops moved from city to city, they repeatedly faced fierce resistance from local Catalan militias. As a result, the French took on heavy casualties. This coin, minted in Tarragona, has the title of Ferdinand VII, who became king of Spain after the French-influenced abdication of his father in 1808. Later the same year, Napoleon forced Ferdinand himself to abdicate in favor of Joseph Bonaparte, Napoleon’s older brother. The Spanish populace strongly rejected this action, and they were further enraged with France’s brutal occupation. As a result, the Spanish began rebelling against the French in a movement that would spread through many towns – Tarragona among them. During the rebellion, the insurgents continued striking coins in the name of their deposed king, Ferdinand VII.