Rhodes (1513-21) ducat Fr-11
This specimen was lot 3596 in Sincona sale 43 (Zürich, October 2017), where it sold for 1,000 CHF (about US$1,193 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"KREUZFAHRER, Johanniter auf Rhodos, Fabrice del Carretto, 1513-1521 Ducato o. J. Sehr selten. Vorzüglich. Überdurchschnittliche Erhaltung. (Crusader States, Order of St. John of Rhodes, Fabrizio del Carretto, 1513-21, undated ducat. Very rare, Extremely fine, than average.)"
The Hospitallers were one of the crusading knightly orders in the Holy Land until the loss of Acre, their last castle, in 1291. They were headquartered in Cyprus for a brief period then conquered Rhodes in 1310. They held the island against the Turks until 1521, when Suleiman the Magnificent forced them to leave. After a short sojourn in Sicily, they were granted the island of Malta by Charles V, which they held 1530-1798. Philippe Villiers was the last Grandmaster at Rhodes and the first at Malta in 1530. The Order today runs charity hospitals in Europe and is headquartered in Rome. This ducat is more or less a copy of the contemporary Venetian ducats.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 3.5 g, 0.986 fine gold, this specimen: 3.48 g.
Catalog reference: Schlumberger Tf. XI, 14. Fr-11.
- 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]Richter, Jürg, Sincona sale 43, Gold and Silver Coins and Medals, Zürich: Sincona AG, 2017
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