Malta 1737 12 tari
This specimen was lot 1292 in Sincona sale 76 (Zürich, May 2022), where it sold for 42,000 CHF (about US$50,980 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"MALTA. Ramon Despuig, 1736-1741. 12 Tari 1737, Valetta. Äusserst selten. Fast FDC. NGC MS62. (Order of Malta, Ramon Despuig, 1736-41, twelve tari of 1737, Valetta mint. Extremely rare, About uncirculated.)"
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. After Napoleon's fall, the British occupied the island as a base until the 1960's, when Malta became an independent republic. The Knights of St. John, now the Order of Malta, still exist but are based in Rome where they run a hospital. The SCWC does not list any twelve tari for this state in the eighteenth century but does mention a very similar silver scudo of 1737-38 (KM 203). That coin states "S. 1" rather than "·T· 12" as here. The piastra was thirty tari.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: silver, this specimen 13.80 g.
Catalog reference: KM unlisted, Restelli/Sammut 11. Gatt 24-12T-01x01.
- Michael, Thomas, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1701-1800, 7th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2016.
- [1]Richter, Jürg, SINCONA Auction 76, The Annemarie and Gerd Köhlmoos Collection, Zürich: SINCONA AG, 2022.
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