*3.1. Coins*

Fernando II continued with the previous coins types, although he also opened a new period that led to new types and iconography. The result of the new artistic experiences was the integration of his portrait into his dies, something unusual in the numismatic trajectory of the kings of Aragon.

Continuing the policy of his predecessors, he unified the values of the traditional coins in all his territories. He generalised the use of the *ducat* or *ducat d'or*, also called the *excelente* in the Valencian mint [18] (Figure 1). With a diversity of dies according to their denominations and places of issue, the hitherto consecrated profile of bust/shield contrasts with the introduction of the new typology F or F and Y crowned/shield and, above all, with the original representation of the busts facing each other/shield.

**Figure 1.** Coins of Fernando I. (**a**). *Ducat* of Valencia, with F, obverse; (**b**). *Ducat* of Valencia, with F and Y crowned, obverse and reverse; (**c**). *Doble ducat* or *Excelente* of Valencia, obverse and reverse. All from https://www.numisbids.com/n.php?p=sale&sid=359&cid=10127 (accessed on 20 October 2021); (**d**). *Doble ducat*, obverse and reverse. From https://www.numismaticodigital.com/noticia/ 5525/ultima-hora/hoy-seleccion-500-de-aureo&calico-en-barcelona.html (accessed on 20 October 2021); (**e**). *Doble castellano* or *dineral*, obverse. From https://aureocalico.bidinside.com/es/lot/2010 /reyes-catlicos-sevilla-doble-castellano-/ (accessed on 20 October 2021).

The crowned initials, perhaps originating from the miniature [19], had precedents in Castile and Leon (see variants in [20]), although they can also be seen in the coinage of Johan II, father of Ferdinand, king consort of Navarra (in his *blancas* and *medias blancas* of made of copper and silver alloy. The Prince of Viana also minted *gruesos* with his crowned initial. See [21]). The iconography of the images facing each other: "with the face of us and of the most honourable queen our wife", ordered by Ferdinand in his commission to García Gomis, regen<sup>t</sup> of the mint of Valencia in 1488 [22], also had more immediate precedents in Castile. It arose from the reform generated by the Ordinance of 1475, which established this gold coin and stipulated that it had to display the frontal busts of the kings, their names, and the titles of their kingdoms, while silver coins were introduced featuring the coat of arms of the yoke and arrows and the aforementioned crowned initials. For the first time, both monarchs were depicted together on the coinage of Seville, thus reflecting the new governmental model (on the monetary reforms of 1475 and 1497, which confirm the concept of two-headed government, see [23,24]). After Elisabeth's death in 1504, this coin underwent modifications; the effigy of the queen on the obverse and the arms of Castile and Leon on the reverse would disappear. The new coins would advertise Ferdinand's new status, with the Castilians referring to him disparagingly as *catalanote* and insisting that he was only king of Aragon. They would feature the traditional bust of the king on the obverse and a crowned lozenge with the arms of Aragon on the reverse [25]. It was a brief minting; with the death of Philip I, Ferdinand II regained control of Castile, meaning that his coins also returned to their previous imagery.

The *doble castellano* or *dineral*, which features the enthroned sovereigns on the obverse, was a new introduction in the Iberian Peninsula. Its iconography had been established in the Royal Decree of 1475 [26–28] and was new in the Hispanic territories. Undoubtedly, the collecting ancient coins and medals by the high dignitaries of the court led to knowledge of this typology, typical of Byzantine coinage until the 13th century, and which also reflected the political reality of the joint-government established by the two monarchs (details on the iconography on the coinage of Ferdinand II, also outside the peninsular kingdoms, see [11], pp. 19–32).
