Item number: A4702

Reference number: KM#687

Year: AD 1881

Material: Gold

Size: 22.0 x 22.0 mm

Weight: 8.0645 g

Manufactured by: Royal Mint of Madrid

Provenance: Fuchin Coin 2026

This is a 25-peseta gold coin issued in AD 1881 during the reign of King Alfonso XII of Spain.

The obverse features a right-facing portrait of Alfonso XII at the centre. The surrounding inscription, ‘ALFONSO XII POR LA G· DE DIOS’, means ‘Alfonso XII by the Grace of God’. Below is the date ‘1881’, indicating the year of minting, flanked by six-pointed stars that serve as the mint mark of the Royal Mint of Madrid. The initials ‘G.S’, engraved below the left side of the neck, are those of the engraver Gregorio Sellán y González.

The reverse bears the crowned royal arms of Spain at the centre, encircled by the collar of the Order of the Golden Fleece and set beneath the royal mantle. The shield incorporates the arms of the kingdoms of Castile, León, Aragon and Navarre, with the pomegranate of Granada at the base and a Bourbon inescutcheon at the centre. The surrounding inscription, ‘REY CONSTL. DE ESPAÑA’, means ‘Constitutional King of Spain’, while the denomination ‘25 PESETAS’ appears below. To the left of the denomination are the initials ‘M.S.’, the marks of the assayers Mauricio Morejón Bueno and Pablo Salas Gabarrell; to the right, the initial ‘M.’ is the mark of the weight-control official Ángel Mendoza Ordóñez.

After the Glorious Revolution of AD 1868 overthrew Isabella II, the Provisional Government introduced a new political system based on constitutional monarchy, and a new constitution was promulgated the next year. The search for a new king, however, proved difficult. The Spanish Cortes subsequently elected Amadeo I of the House of Savoy as king, but his reign faced opposition from republicans, Carlists and other political factions. These divisions, compounded by conflicts such as the Third Carlist War, contributed to persistent political instability. After Amadeo I abdicated in AD 1873, the First Spanish Republic was proclaimed, but the republican regime soon became beset by political divisions and military unrest. At the end of AD 1874, Alfonso XII was proclaimed king, restoring the Bourbon monarchy and bringing the Sexenio Democrático to an end.

In October AD 1868, the Provisional Government established the peseta monetary system. As the new monetary unit was relatively small, a 25-peseta gold coin was produced to replace the 20-peseta denomination. Two years later, in line with the standards of the Latin Monetary Union, gold coins in denominations of 100, 50, 20, 10 and 5 pesetas were introduced, all with a fineness of 900‰. After Alfonso XII ascended the throne and the Bourbon monarchy was restored, Spain retained the peseta system created by the Provisional Government. From AD 1877 onwards, the king’s portrait was widely adopted on newly struck coins, while the reverse commonly bore the crowned royal arms of Spain. The 25-peseta gold coin was struck between AD 1876 and 1885, weighed approximately 8.06 grams and had a fineness of 900‰.

The Latin Monetary Union was established in AD 1865 by France, Belgium, Italy and Switzerland, with the relevant treaty coming into force the following year. Its principal aim was to standardise the weights and specifications of gold and silver coins issued by the member states, enabling coins from different countries to circulate according to common standards and thereby reducing cross-border transaction costs. Other countries subsequently either formally joined the Union or adopted similar monetary standards. However, differences in fiscal and monetary policies among the member states, together with problems such as the excessive issue of subsidiary silver coinage, gradually undermined the arrangement. After the outbreak of the First World War, the widespread suspension of gold coinage effectively brought its operation to an end. Nevertheless, the Union continued to exist in various forms until AD 1925 and was formally dissolved on 31 December AD 1926.

物件編號: A4702

參考書目編號: KM#687

年代: 公元 1881 年

材質: 黃金

尺寸: 22.0 x 22.0 mm

重量: 8.0645 g

製造地: 馬德里皇家鑄幣廠

來源: 福君錢幣 2026

這是一枚公元1881年，西班牙國王阿方索十二世任內發行的25比塞塔金幣。

錢幣正面中央是阿方索十二世面朝右側的肖像。周圍銘文「ALFONSO XII POR LA G·DE DIOS」，意思是蒙上帝恩典的阿方索十二世；下方為「1881」字樣，標示鑄造年份；兩側有六角星圖樣，為馬德里皇家鑄幣廠的鑄幣廠印記。頸部左下方刻有「G.S」，乃雕刻師格雷戈里奧·塞良·伊·岡薩雷斯（Gregorio Sellán y González）縮寫。

錢幣背面中央為加冕的西班牙王室紋章，外圍環繞金羊毛騎士團頸飾，並覆以王室斗篷。盾徽包含卡斯提爾、雷昂、亞拉岡及納瓦拉諸王國的紋章，下方為象徵格拉納達的石榴，中央則置有波旁王朝小盾徽。周圍銘文「REY CONSTL. DE ESPAÑA」意為「西班牙立憲國王」，下方標示面額「25 PESETAS」。面額左側的「M.S.」為驗金師Mauricio Morejón Bueno（毛里西奧·莫雷洪·布埃諾）與 Pablo Salas Gabarrell（巴勃羅·薩拉斯·加巴雷爾）的標記；右側的「M.」則代表衡重官安赫爾·門多薩·奧多涅斯（Ángel Mendoza Ordóñez）。

公元1868年「光榮革命」推翻伊莎貝爾二世後，臨時政府建立以君主立憲為基礎的新政體，並於隔年制定新憲法，但尋找新國王的過程並不順利。其後，西班牙國會推舉薩伏依王朝的阿瑪迪奧一世為國王，然而其統治受到共和派、卡洛斯派及其他政治勢力的反對，加上第三次卡洛斯戰爭等衝突，使政局持續不穩。阿瑪迪奧一世於公元1873年退位後，西班牙建立第一共和國，但共和政權很快陷入政治分裂與軍事動亂。公元1874年底，阿方索十二世被擁立為王，波旁王朝由此復辟，民主六年亦宣告結束。

公元1868年10月，臨時政府創立比塞塔幣制，其不便之處在於貨幣單位過小，故製造25比塞塔金幣取代20比塞塔。兩年後又與拉丁貨幣同盟一樣，製作100、50、20、10及5比塞塔金幣，成色皆為900‰。阿方索十二世即位、波旁王朝復辟後，西班牙繼續沿用臨時政府建立的比塞塔貨幣制度。自公元1877年起，國王肖像被廣泛運用於新鑄貨幣之上，背面則多採加冠的西班牙王室盾徽。其中，25比塞塔金幣於公元1876-1885年間鑄造，重量約8.06克，成色亦為900‰。

拉丁貨幣同盟成立於公元1865年，由法國、比利時、義大利與瑞士共同組成，相關條約於翌年正式生效。其主要目的在於統一各成員國金、銀幣的重量與規格，使不同國家發行的貨幣得以按照共同標準流通，從而降低跨境交易成本。此後，其他國家亦正式加入或採用與同盟相近的貨幣制度。然而，由於成員國之間的財政與貨幣政策存在差異，加上小額銀幣過度發行等問題，同盟的運作逐漸受到削弱。第一次世界大戰爆發後，各國普遍停止金幣鑄造，使同盟在實際運作上近乎終結；其制度仍以不同形式延續至公元1925年，最終於公元1926年12月31日正式解散。