Crete (1625-29) 60 tornesi
The first specimen was lot 1505 in Stephen Album sale 27 (Santa Rosa, CA, January 2017), where it sold for $440.62. The catalog description[1] noted, "CRETE: Giovanni Corner I, 1624-1629, BI 60 tornesi, ND. Outstanding strike, VF to EF." The second specimen was lot 73088 in Stack's Bowers Collector's Choice sale (Santa Ana, CA, June 2020), where it sold for $132. The catalog description[2] noted, "ITALY. Venice. 4 Soldi, ND (1624-30). Giovanni Cornaro. NGC VF-25. A charming Italian copper with St. Mark's lion prominently featured in the design." Crete was then under Venetian rule. We don't know why a coin denominated in tornesi, a unit typical of Sicily, would be used in Crete. The obverse shows the lion of St. Mark, the symbol of Venice, yet is lettered in Greek, for the benefit of those few inhabitants of the island who could read. Venice held the island from the time of the Fourth Crusade (1212) until its conquest by the Ottomans (1669).
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 7.65 g, 0.047 fine silver, weight ranges 5.58-7.07 g, 30 mm diameter; the first specimen 6.37 g.
Catalog reference: KM-9 (listed under VENICE - CRETE), Paolucci-19.
- Cuhaj, George S., and Thomas Michael, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1601-1700, 6th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2014.
- Rafaele Paolucci, La Zecca di Venezia, 2 vols. Padua, 1991.
- [1]Album, Stephen, Joseph Lang, Paul Montz, Michael Barry and Norman Douglas Nicol, Auction 27, featuring the Dr. Paul Stevens Collection of Indian Coins, Part VI, Santa Rosa, CA: Stephen Album Rare Coins, Inc., 2016.
- [2]Orsini, Matt, Richard Ponterio and Kyle Ponterio, The February 2020 Collector's Choice sale: World and Ancient Coins, Santa Ana, CA: Stack's Bowers LLC, 2020.
Link to:
- Crete (1610) soldino
- Crete (1611-15) 10 tornesi Marcantonio Memmo
- Venice (1628)-GC scudo Dav-4244
- Coins and currency dated 1625
- return to coins of Crete