Malta 1779 30 tari Dav-1607
This specimen was lot 1852 in Jean Elsen sale 149 (Brussels, December 2021), where it sold for €200 (about US$271 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"MALTE, Ordre de Saint-Jean, Emmanuel de Rohan (1775-1797), AR 30 tari, 1779. D/ B. à d. R/ Ecu couronné posé sur une aigle éployée, sans tête. Légères traces d'ajustage. presque Très Beau. (Malta, Order of St. John, Emmanuel de Rohan, 1775-97, silver thirty tari of 1779. Obverse: bust right; reverse: crowned shield on an eagle displayed without head. Light adjustment marks, about Very 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 1779 only but is among the more available of this denomination. 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 but not rare.
Specification: silver, this specimen is 29,14 g.
Catalog reference: KM 317, Dav-1607, Schembri 175, 2.
- 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]Elsen, Philippe, et al., Vente Publique 149: Monnaies, Médailles et Décorations, Brussels: Jean Elsen et ses Fils S.A., 2021.
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