Malta 1782 20 scudi Fr-43
This specimen was lot 3162 in Künker sale 294 (Osnabrück, Germany, July 2017), where it sold for €2,900 (about US$3,909 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"MALTA, JOHANNITERORDEN, Emmanuel de Rohan, 1775-1797. 20 Scudi 1782, Valletta. GOLD. Min. justiert, vorzüglich. (Order of Malta, Emmanuel de Rohan, 1775-1797, twenty scudi of 1782, Valetta mint. Minor adjustment marks, extremely fine.)"
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 = 1 tari, 12 tari = 1 scudo. The Order also struck ducats. This type, where dots divide legend, is rare. A similar twenty scudi (KM 328), where stars divide the legend, was issued for 1781-82.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 16 g, .840 fine gold, .432 troy oz AGW, this specimen: 16.51 g.
Catalog reference: Fr-43; Restelli 7, KM 330.
- Friedberg, Arthur L. and Ira S. Friedberg, Gold Coins of the World, From Ancient Times to the Present, 9th ed., Clifton, NJ: Coin and Currency Institute, 2017.
- [1]Künker Münzauktionen und Goldhandel, Katalog 294: Goldprägungen | Deutsche Münzen ab 1871 | Russische Münzen und Medaillen, Osnabrück: Fritz Rudolf Künker GmbH & Co., AG, 2017.
- Michael, Thomas, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1701-1800, 7th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2016.
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