Analysis of Catalonian silver coins from the Spanish War of Independence period (1808-1814) by Energy Dispersive X-ray Fluorescence

Between the years 1808 and 1814, the Spanish War of Independence took place. This period, locally known as Guerra del Frances, generated the need for money and consequently five mints were opened around the Catalan territory. To mark the 200th anniversary of the beginning of the war, an extensive campaign of Energy Dispersive X-ray Fluorescence measurements of some of these emergency coins was carried out. Apart from the silver (major constituent of all the studied coins) it has been possible to recognize copper as main metal alloying element. Likewise, the presence of zinc, tin, lead, gold, platinum, antimony, nickel and iron has been also identified. The obtained results have been useful not only for the characterization of the alloys, but also to determine the differences and analogies between the emissions and for historical explanations. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.