Malta 1768 4 tari
The first specimen was lot 72761 in Stack's Bowers Collector's Choice sale (Costa Mesa, CA, May 2023), where it sold for $192. The catalog description[1] noted, "MALTA. Order of Malta. 4 Tari, 1768. Valletta Mint. Manuel Pinto de Fonseca. NGC VF Details--Cleaned. Despite the noted cleaning, the present example delivers a rich luster and wholesome details, with much pleasing charm throughout." The second specimen was lot 1122 in Stephen Album sale 50 (Santa Rosa, CA, September 2024), where it sold for $192. The catalog description[2] noted, "MALTA: Emmanuel Pinto, 1741-1773, AR 4 tari, 1768, Valletta Mint, some very light hairlines, About XF, ex Dr. Robert A. Rosenfeld Collection." The third specimen was lot 6418 in CNG Triton XXVIII (New York, January 2025), where it sold for $1,470. The catalog description[3] noted, "MALTA, Sovereign Military Order of Malta. Emmanuel Pinto. Grandmaster, 1741-1773. AR 4 Tarì. Valletta mint. Dated 1768. Armored bust right / Crowned coat-of-arms. Toned. EF. A wonderful example. From the Drewry Family Collection. Ex Stanley Gibbons Collection (Part II, NASCA, 7 December 1981), lot 4445." The four tari was issued intermittently until the island was occupied by the French in 1798. This type was issued 1768 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, this specimen 25 mm diameter, 4.21 g, 6 h axis.
Catalog reference: Gatt 25-4T-60M60; KM 282 (third coin illustrated).
- Michael, Thomas, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1701-1800, 7th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2016.
- [1]Orsini, Matt, Kyle Ponterio and Jeremy Bostwick, February 2023 World Collectors Choice Online Auction, featuring the David Sterling Collection, Costa Mesa, CA: Stack's Bowers Galleries, Inc., 2023.
- [2]Album, Stephen, Joseph Lang, Paul Montz, Michael Barry and Norman Douglas Nicol, Auction 50, featuring selections from the Dr. Robert A. Rosenfeld Collection, the Hakim Hamidi Collection, the Almer H. Orr III Collection and the Solar Collection, Santa Rosa, CA: Stephen Album Rare Coins, Inc., 2024.
- [3]Gasvoda, Michael, Victor England, Eric McFadden, Dave Michaels, Bill Dalzell and Lance Hickman, Triton XXVIII, Lancaster, PA: Classical Numismatic Group, LLC, 2024.
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