ITALY, Sicilia (Kingdom). Pietro I il grande (the Great), with Constanza II. 1282-1285. AV Pierreale d’oro (24mm, 4.37 g, 2h). Messina mint. EF.

Keystone 16 – The David C. Bianchi II Collection
Lot: 558.
Closing Date: May 20 2026 10:00 ET

Medieval & Early Modern World – Other, Gold

Estimate: $ 4 000

BID NOW

ITALY, Sicilia (Kingdom). Pietro I il grande (the Great), with Constanza II. 1282-1285. AV Pierreale d’oro (24mm, 4.37 g, 2h). Messina mint. + SUmmA POTЄnCI’A · ЄST · In DЄO ·/+ · P · DЄI · GRA · ARAGOn · SICIL · RЄX (annulet stops), coat-of-arms / + XPS · UInCIT · XPS · RЄGnAT · XPS · ImPAT/+ COSTA · DЄI · GRA · ARAG · SICIL · RЄG, eagle standing left with wings spread, head right. MIR 170; Spahr 6; MEC 14, 756; Friedberg 654. Lustrous, small edge mark. EF.

From the David C. Bianchi II Collection, purchased from Del Parker.

The eldest son of Jaime I of Aragon and his second wife Violante of Hungary, Pietro spent much of his his youth and early adulthood fighting his father’s wars of the Reconquista against the Moors, where he gain a great deal of military experience for his future enterprises. His marriage on 13 June 1262 to Constanza II of Sicily, daughter of King Manfredo, provided him with the legitimate excuse to remove the “usurper” Carlo I d’Angiò, who had seized control of the region following Manfredo’s death in 1266. In early 1282, a popular rebellion, known as the War of the Sicilian Vespers, broke out in reaction to the rule of Carlo. Taking advantage of this situation, Pietro launched his invasion to claim the throne for himself. Although he installed himself successfully on the throne and Carlo was driven into exile in Naples, the remainder of Pietro’s short reign in Sicily was beset by warfare. The first involved his conflict with Carlo and was halted short of of trial by duel arranged in France to be judged by Edward I of England. While Pietro was ultimately successful against Carlo, the second conflict, the Aragonese Crusade, beginning in 1284 and continuing until Pietro’s death the following year, embroiled France in the region and helped to undermine Aragonese power.

Closing Date and Time: 20 May 2026 at 13:05:40 ET.



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