Steve S. writes: I found a large brown foreign coin dated 1870. It has a seated lady with the words “DIEZ GRAMOS” on one side and a lion with shield on the other with the words “CIEN PIEZAS EN KILOG” and “DIEZ CENTIMOS” Can you tell me anything about this coin?
You have a 1870 10 centimos. It was struck during the revolution of 1868-70 and was part of the Third Decimal Coinage of 10 Milesimas=1 centimo, 100 centimos=1 Peseta. The obverse shows a Lion standing to the right leaning on a shield, the legend above the beaded border is CIEN PIEZAS EN KILOG. (100 Pieces in a kilogram) and DIEZ CENTIMOS. The reverse shows a seated figure Hispania within a beaded border (similar to Britannia on English half pennies and pennies, a sitting Hispania DIEZ GRAMOS (10 Grams) and the date 1870, is below.
The coin was struck under the Spanish Provisional Government (1868-1871). More than 170 million 1870 10 centimos were struck. Approximate Value Range: $1 – $80, depending on grade.
