Malta 1649 4 tari
This specimen was lot 6582 in CNG Triton XXIX (New York, January 2026), where it sold for $1,225. The catalog description[1] noted, "MALTA, Sovereign Military Order of Malta. Jean-Paul Lascaris Castellar. Grandmaster, 1636-1657. AR 4 Tarì. Valetta mint. Dated 1649. Crowned coat-of-arms / Head of John the Baptist on platter. Mottled toning, minor edge marks. VF. From the Drewry Family Collection. Ex NASCA (7 December 1981), lot 4433." Many of the baroque coins of Malta feature the severed head of John the Baptist on a platter. This type was struck 1637-51, 1656. Malta, an island between Italy and Tunisia, was ruled by the Knights of St. John from the 1500's to their ouster by Napoleon in 1798.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: silver; this specimen 31 mm diameter, 9.92 g, 9 h axis.
Catalog reference: Gatt 14-4T-195X193; KM 69.
- Cuhaj, George S., and Thomas Michael, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1601-1700, 6th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2014.
- [1]Gasvoda, Michael, Victor England, Eric McFadden, Dave Michaels, Bill Dalzell and Lance Hickman, Triton XXIX, Lancaster, PA: Classical Numismatic Group, LLC, 2025.
Link to:
- Malta 1648 4 tari
- Malta (1662) 4 tari c/s on a copper 4 tari of 1641
- Malta 1665 4 tari
- Coins and currency dated 1649