Description

Anne, 1702-1714. Silver Medal 1706, 15.54 g. Barcelona Relieved. By J. Croker. Bust, draped. ANNA . D : G . MAG . BR . FR . ET . HIB : REG. Below: I . C. Rv. Sun eclipsed above city and harbour. BARCELONA . LIB . GALLIS . FVG. In exergue: I . MAII . MDCCVI. Plain edge. 34.6 mm. Eimer 418. MI ii 280/86. van Loon V, 22,4. Saunders/Vanhoudt 1706-4. Fast vorzüglich / About Extremely Fine. Feine Patina / Nicely toned.

From the auction Bankhaus Aufhäuser 10, Munich, October 1993, lot 1069.

The siege of Barcelona took place between 3 and 27 April 1706 during the War of the Spanish Succession when a Franco-Spanish army laid siege to Barcelona in an attempt to recapture the city following its fall to an English-led Allied army the previous year.

After the Grand Alliance victory at Barcelona, the solar eclipse of 12 May 1706 was widely interpreted as the “eclipse of Sun King”.