Pisa 1621 tallero Dav-4197
This specimen was lot 3623 in Sincona sale 51 (Zürich, October 2018), where it sold for 1,000 CHF (about US$1,206 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"Toscana, Ferdinando II Medici, 1621-1670. Tallero 1621, Firenze. Für Pisa. Selten / Rare. Fast vorzüglich. Kleiner Schrötlingsfehler am Rand. (grand duchy of Tuscany, Ferdinand II Medici, 1621-70, tallero of 1621, Florence mint, struck for Pisa. About extremely fine, Small flan defect at the edge.)"
The Florentine republic, a leader of the Renaissance, collapsed in the early 1500's under economic decline, foreign invasion and internal strife. To keep the region out of the hands of the Spaniards, the emperor converted the republic into a grand duchy and awarded it in 1530 to the Medici family, who held it until its extinction in 1737. Pisa, after a long career as an independent city state in the Middle Ages, fell under Florentine domination in Renaissance times. After the Florentine republic collapsed, Pisa became part of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, ruled by the Medicis until 1723. The type was struck in the name of the new duke but uses the portrait of the old duke, who died in 1621. It was issued 1621, 1623 and 1629.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 27.95-28.31 g, silver, this specimen 27.83 g.
Catalog reference: MIR 449 (R2). Dav-4197, KM-20.
- Cuhaj, George S., and Thomas Michael, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1601-1700, 6th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2014.
- Davenport, John S., European Crowns, 1600-1700, Galesburg, IL, 1974.
- [1]Richter, Jürg, Sincona Auction 51: Gold and Silver Coins and Medals; Coins and Medals from Switzerland, Zürich: SINCONA AG, 2018.
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