Desana (1583-98) tallero Dav-8272
This specimen was lot 5022 in Künker sale 441 (Osnabrück, March 2026), where it sold for €6,000 (about US$8,254 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"ITALIEN, DESANA/PIEMONT Delfino Tizzone, 1583-1598. Tallero o. J. Von großer Seltenheit. Kl. Kratzer, fast vorzüglich. Erworben bei der Degussa, Frankfurt am Main. (Italy, Desana in Piedmont, Delfino Tizzone, 1583-98, undated tallero. Extremely rare, hairlines, about extremely fine.)"
Today Desana is an insignificant village in the Piedmont region of Italy, population 1,085 as of 2004. It was a semi-independent enclave in the duchy of Savoy, ruled by the Tizzoni 1411-1693. A mint was opened in 1510 to strike imitations of coins of neighboring states. This one vaguely resembles thalers of August of Saxony. Delfino was count 1583-98.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 28 g, silver, 41 mm diameter, this specimen 28,26 g.
Catalog reference: Varesi 490 (R4); KM MB117, Dav-8272.
- Davenport, John S., European Crowns, 1484-1600, Frankfurt: Numismatischer Verlag, 1977.
- [1]Künker, Fritz Rudolf, Horst-Rudiger Künker, Ulrich Künker and Andreas Kaiser, Frühjahrs-Auktion 441: Orders and Decorations from the Estate of Wilhelm, Duke of Bavaria (1752–1837), among others | Coins and Medals from the Middle Ages and Modern times, particularly Denmark, Habsburg, Norway, and Saxony, Osnabrück: Fritz Rudolf Künker GmbH & Co., AG, 2026.
Links:
- Desana (1525-33) testone Giovanni Bartolomeo Tizzone
- Saxony 1583-HB thaler Dav-9798
- Desana (1618-30) tallero Dav-3891 Antonio Maria Tizzone II
- Coins and currency dated 1583