Sicily 1552 2 tari
This specimen was lot 74032 in Stack's Bowers Collector's Choice sale (Costa Mesa, CA, February 2023), where it sold for $240. The catalog description[1] noted, "ITALY. Naples & Sicily (Sicily). 2 Tari, 1552. Messina Mint. Carlo II (Charles I of Spain). PCGS AU-55. Emanating from the final years in the reign of the Holy Roman Emperor, here in his role as the King of Sicily, the present example yields the typical crude manufacture of the type, with solid detail and some enchanting toning. From the David Sterling Collection." The portrait is of Charles V of Spain. The Spanish Hapsburgs ruled Naples and Sicily as part of their Aragonese inheritance from the death of Ferdinand the Catholic in 1517 until the death of Charles II in 1700. Charles spent much time in Italy, where his soldiers sacked Rome in 1527, but we don't think he ever visited Sicily.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: silver.
Catalog reference: MIR-293/1.
- [1]Orsini, Matt, Kyle Ponterio and Jeremy Bostwick, February 2023 World Collectors Choice Online Auction, featuring the David Sterling Collection, Costa Mesa, CA: Stack's Bowers Galleries, Inc., 2023.
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