Malta (1530-34) zecchino Fr-1

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Künker Auction 439, lot 2131

This specimen was lot 2131 in Künker sale 439 (Osnabrück, March 2026), where it sold for €13,000 (about US$17,884 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,

"MALTA, JOHANNITERORDEN Philippe Villiers de L'Isle Adam, 1530-1534. Zecchino o. J., vermutlich Rhodos. Der Heilige Johannes steht nach r. und überreicht dem vor ihm knienden Großmeister das Banner des Ordens//Christus steht v. v. mit segnender Rechten und Buch in Mandorla, umher Sternenkranz. GOLD. Von größter Seltenheit. Sehr schön +. Nach Gatt wurde dieser Zecchinentyp noch auf Rhodos während der letzten Belagerung von 1522/1523 geprägt. (Order of Malta, Philippe Villiers de L'Isle Adam, 1530-34, undated zecchino, perhaps stuck at Rhodes. Obverse: St. John the Baptist hands the banner of the Order to the kneeling grandmaster; reverse: Christ stands in a mandorla, stars around. Extremely rare, very fine or better. According to Gatt, this type of zecchino was still being minted on Rhodes during the final siege of 1522–1523.)"

Philippe Villiers de L'Isle-Adam (1464-1534) was elected grandmaster while the Order was still based at Rhodes. He led the Order during its evacuation of Rhodes in 1523, its years of exile and its final settlement at Malta in 1530. Zecchini were struck during all three periods and are very difficult to distinguish.

Recorded mintage: unknown.

Specification: 3.48 g, 0.986 fine gold, 21 mm diameter, this specimen 3,48 g.

Catalog reference: Fr-1 (Malta); Restelli 6 var; Gatt 01-1Z-01X03.

Sources:

  • Friedberg, Arthur L. and Ira S. Friedberg, Gold Coins of the World, From Ancient Times to the Present, 9th ed., Clifton, NJ: Coin and Currency Institute, 2017.
  • [1]Künker, Fritz Rudolf, Horst-Rudiger Künker, Ulrich Künker and Andreas Kaiser, Frühjahrs-Auktion 439: Gold Coins from around the world, particularly Denmark, Habsburg, Malta and Saxony | German Coins after 1871 including Coins from the Collection of Jürgen and Erika Schmidt, Osnabrück: Fritz Rudolf Künker GmbH & Co., AG, 2026.

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