King Philip V One Escudo Pendant

Description:

This rare gold escudo coin was minted in Cagliari, Sardinia, under the Crown of Aragon during the reign of Spanish King Philip V. The obverse side features a cross with fleurs-de-lis and the Latin legend INIMIC·EIVS·INDVAM·CONFVS· translated to “I will clothe his enemies with confusion.” The reverse shows the crowned shield of Aragon with the 1702 date below and the legend PHILIP·V·HISP·ET·SARD·REX· “Philip V King of Spain and Sardinia.”
Sardinia became a part of the Crown of Aragon after the Aragonese conquest of the island between 1323 and 1326. Following the union of the crowns of Aragon and Castile in 1479, the island of Sardinia was a territory of the burgeoning Spanish Empire. Under Spanish rule, Sardinia retained a degree of autonomy, functioning as a semi-independent kingdom with its own parliament and a viceroy governing on the king's behalf. Due to the recurrent wars between Spain and the Ottoman Empire, the island became a frequent target for Barbary pirates. From the 1570s onward a series of towers, known today as the Spanish Towers, were built around the island's coast to guard against pirate raids.
In 1700, Philip V became the first Bourbon king of Spain which sparked the War of the Spanish Succession as European powers feared a potential union of the French and Spanish crowns. Sardinia remained under Spanish Bourbon rule until 1708 when a British fleet landed Austrian troops on the island and bombarded Cagliari. The viceroys of Sardinia loyal to Philip capitulated and the establishment of Austrian Habsburg rule began.