Malta 1769 15 tari
This specimen was lot 72760 in Stack's Bowers Collector's Choice sale (Costa Mesa, CA, May 2023), where it sold for $432. The catalog description[1] noted, "MALTA. Order of Malta. 15 Tari, 1769. Valletta Mint. Emmanuel Pinto. PCGS VF-35. Featuring St. John the Baptist and the agnus Dei (Lamb of God), this moderately circulated specimen displays a deep olive-gray tone and remains without issue." The fifteen tari was the equivalent of the half piastra and was issued intermittently until the island was occupied by the French in 1798. This type was issued 1769 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-258.2.
- 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.
Link to: