Aragonese Corona

The Aragonese Corona's most striking feature was its use of silver sourced from the mines of Sardinia, a resource that helped fund Aragonese campaigns across the Mediterranean. This coin, minted in Naples between 1442 and 1503, bore the Aragonese arms on one side and Neapolitan symbols on the other, symbolizing the uneasy union of two realms. Struck on irregularly shaped planchets, it often showed signs of wear from circulation in bustling ports.

We know little about exact mintage figures; records from that era are scarce, likely destroyed in later conflicts. What survives are a few specimens in private collections, their edges sometimes bearing faint countermarks from merchants testing purity. The coin's value fluctuated with silver prices, making it a practical tool for trade rather than a royal showpiece.

One oddity: Alfonso V probably never imagined his coin ending up as a lucky charm in some fisherman's net.