Malta 1761 30 tari Dav-1602
This specimen was lot 1931 in Künker sale 263 (Osnabrück, June 2015), where it sold for €440 (about US$569 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"JOHANNITERORDEN Emmanuel Pinto, 1741-1773. 30 Tari 1761, Valletta. Attraktives Exemplar mit hübscher Patina, fast vorzüglich. (Order of Malta, Emmanuel Pinto, 1741-73, thirty tari of 1761, Valletta mint. Attractive, toned, choice extremely fine.)"
The thirty tari was the equivalent of the piastra and was issued until the island was occupied by the French in 1798. This type was issued 1761 only. 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 1964, 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 Maltese used currency derived from their neighbors the Sicilians; 20 grani = one tari, 12 tari = one scudo.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: silver.
Catalog reference: KM-260; Dav-1602; Restelli 88.
- Davenport, John S., European Crowns, 1700-1800, 2nd Ed., London: Spink & Son, 1964.
- Michael, Thomas, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1701-1800, 7th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2016.
- [1]Künker Münzauktionen und Goldhandel, Catalog 263, The Friedrich Popken collection of gold and silver coinages | Coins and Medals from Medieval and Modern Times, a. o. the collection of Ernst Otto Horn, part III, Osnabrück: Fritz Rudolf Künker GmbH & Co., AG, 2015.
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