CHARLES II (1665-1700). Tari. (Ar. 5.67g/27mm). 1687. Naples AG-A. (Vicenti 171).

EBC/EBC+. Beautiful patina.

Encapsulated by NCV as AU55

The coins of Naples during the reign of Charles II were part of the monetary system of the Kingdom of Naples, which was under Spanish sovereignty from the beginning of the 16th century to the beginning of the 18th century. The Naples mint issued silver and gold coins of various denominations, including the tari, ducat (or piastre), and carlin, which bore the legacy of several monetary reforms throughout the 17th century.

The Kingdom of Naples, also called the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, had been under Spanish control since 1503, when it was occupied by Ferdinand the Catholic through the Great Captain. Since then, Neapolitan coins reflected Spanish power in Italy, with symbols such as dynastic coats of arms and characteristic religious representations.

During the reign of Charles II (1665-1700), the Naples mint underwent significant reforms, such as the introduction of flywheel-driven coining (a more modern press) around 1683, which improved the quality and regularity of the coins.

Some historians speak of the existence of a Charles II in "Italian key". A monarch who would differ in several factors from the same Charles II of the Peninsula or the King of the Indies. The Italian Charles II, his court, his dynasty, is intimately and inextricably linked to the Italian art of the time. This creates a peculiar relationship between art and power that can be observed in all cultural orders, and numismatics is no exception. It is therefore no coincidence that the care and beauty with which mint masters and assayers, such as Andrea Giovane and Antonio Ariani, minted these specimens. Italy, more specifically Naples, had become a true artistic laboratory that sought not only to achieve high levels of beauty but also to project a positive image of both the Crown and the king himself. And so we find, for example, these reverses where, in harmony, elements as disparate as a western orb crowned with a cornucopia and an intertwined fasces coexist. No novel element or one we don't already know; on the contrary, we find fully established decorative elements (is anything more traditional in numismatics than a cornucopia or a fasces?), whose objective is none other than to show an air of continuity and positivism to this reign.