Malta 1779 15 tari
This specimen was lot 72440 in Stack's Bowers Collector's Choice sale (Santa Ana, CA, October 2019), where it sold for $336. The catalog description[1] noted, "MALTA. 15 Tari, 1779. Emmanuel de Rohan. NGC VF-35. Offering a charming cabinet tone and surfaces that bear only even, problem free wear, this type is rather difficult to encounter, especially so well preserved. Not surprisingly, the finest that NGC has graded for the date." This type is listed for 1779 only. It accompanied a thirty tari (Dav-1607). 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 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-316.
- Michael, Thomas, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1701-1800, 7th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2016.
- [1]Orsini, Matt, Richard Ponterio and Kyle Ponterio, The October 2019 Collector's Choice Sale: World and Ancient Coins, Santa Ana, CA: Stack's Bowers LLC, 2019.
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