Ragusa 1736 tallero Dav-1636
This specimen was lot 1179 in Jean Elsen sale 159 (Brussels, June 2024), where it sold for €460 (about US$591 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"DALMATIE, RAGUSE, AR tallero, 1736. D/ B. de saint Blaise à d., bénissant, ten. une crosse et une maquette de la ville. R/ Cartouche couronné aux armes de la ville, posé sur un sceptre et une épée en sautoir. Frappe faible au revers. Beau à Très Beau. (republic of Ragusa, silver tallero of 1736. Obverse: bust of St. Blas right, holding a cross and a model of the town; reverse: crowned arms of the city over a crossed scepter and sword. Weakly struck on the reverse, fine to very fine.)"
This type was struck 1725, 1730-38 and 1743. It normally comes weakly struck and often with heavy adjustment marks. Ragusa was a Christian enclave on the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea. At the time, it was an independent city-state surrounded and protected by the Ottoman Empire, which ruled most of the Balkans. Ragusa was occupied by French troops in 1805 and annexed by Austria in 1814. The SCWC doesn't give its exact specification but it is roughly equal to contemporary German talers.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: silver, this specimen 28,04 g.
Catalog reference: KM 16, Viscevic 14.12; Dav-1636.
- 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 159, Collection Harry Dewit, Brussels: Jean Elsen et ses Fils S.A., 2024.
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