€50 SPAIN 2021 - 450th anniversary of the Battle of Lepanto
In 2021 the anniversary of one of the greatest battles in human history is celebrated. On October 7, 1571, more than 400 galleys and almost 200,000 men met in a battle in the Ionian Sea, south of Greece, between the Ottoman navy and a coalition of Catholic Christian states (the so-called Holy League). Turkish ships had been pushing for control of the western Mediterranean for years. The Italian and Spanish coasts were increasingly threatened and Malta was almost taken in 1565. So Spain, Venice and the Papal States formed an alliance to confront the Turkish navy and stop its advance. In the history of naval warfare, Lepanto is the last major engagement in the Western world that was fought almost entirely between rowing ships.
To commemorate this event, the Royal Mint issues two silver coins: a Cincuentín (5 ounces).
On the obverse of the fiftieth a moment of the battle is represented based on a lithograph made by Vicente Urrabieta, deposited in the National Library of Madrid. On its reverse, there appears an image of the Spanish king Philip II, the major commander of the Holy League, Don Juan of Austria, and the command of the Spanish ships Don Álvaro de Bazán. Between the two appear some "picas", an ancient weapon widely used by Spanish troops.
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Composition : 925 thousandths silver
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Face value : €50
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Weight : 168.75 grams
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Dimensions : 73mm
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Quality : Proof
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Maximum circulation : 2,500 units
