Spain 1813CSF 1/2 Real AU-UNC (AU55) $

Spain 1813CSF 1/2 Real AU-UNC (AU55)

Ferdinand VII (1784-1833) had a tumultuous reign, interrupted when he was overthrown by Napoleon in 1808. When he returned to the throne in 1813, he found a French-style Constitution in place that established an incredibly liberal (for the time) parliamentary system, electoral system, representation for the colonies, freedom of the press, and a huge array of other liberties. A deeply conservative autocrat, Ferdinand rejected it. This made him immediately and vastly unpopular, and as a result, he struggled against revolt for the entirety of his reign. Paranoid and inherently selfish, he found he could not trust his ministers and was forced to become increasingly vindictive and despotic. "The king," wrote Friedrich von Gentz in 1814, "has so debased himself that he has become no more than the leading police agent and prison warden of his country." In the end, Ferdinand lost all of Spain's American colonies to revolution, and when he died the country descended into civil war.

Obverse: Laureate and drape bust of Ferdinand VII facing right, with the legend around and the date below.
Reverse: Crowned Coat of Arms of Spain divides the mint marks, with the legend around.

Specifications:
Monarch: Ferdinand VII (1808-1833)
Félix Sagau y Dalmau de Galcerán
Composition: 0.812 Silver
Weight: 1.5 g
Diameter: 16 mm
Edge: Reeded
Die Axis: ↑uarr;