Charles III, Siege of Barcelona / Eclipse Medal 1706

Struck to commemorate the Grand Alliance victory during the War of the Spanish Succession in which the Franco-Spanish army was forced to abandon its siege of Barcelona. The siege coincided with a major solar eclipse, which is mentioned in the lower reverse inscription of the medal. This eclipse was contemporarily referred to as the “Eclipse of the Sun King” as it marked the defeat of Louis XIV, the “Sun King” of France.