Venice (1705-06)-BG leone
This specimen was lot 1813 in Jean Elsen sale 149 (Brussels, December 2021), where it sold for €380 (about US$515 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"ITALIE, VENISE, Alvise Mocenigo II (1700-1709), AR leone (80 soldi), s.d. (1705-1706). Frappé pour les possessions de Dalmatie et d'Albanie. D/ Le doge agenouillé devant saint Marc. A l'ex., BG (Bernardo Gritti). R/ Lion de saint Marc à g., ten. un rameau, devant une tour fortifiée. Rare Trace de monture. presque Très Beau. (Italy, republic of Venice, Alvise Mocenigo II, 1700-09, undated silver leone of eighty soldi, struck for the Venetian possessions in Dalmatia and Albania. Obverse: the doge kneels before St. Mark, mintmaster's initials below; reverse: the lion of St. Mark to left, bearing a branch before a tower on a mountain. Rare, trace of mount mark, about Very Fine.)"
This leone of eighty soldi was accompanied by half leone (40 soldi), quarter leone (20 soldi) and eighth leone (10 soldi), all scarce today. Leone are known struck for Venice proper but were much larger coins of higher fineness (see Dav-1528, 27.12 g, 0.739 fine). Venice held Dalmatia from medieval times to the end of the republic in 1797, when it passed to Austria.
Recorded mintage: unknown but not common.
Specification: 11.59 g, .609 fine silver, 34-35 mm diameter, this specimen is 11,35 g
Catalog reference: KM 14 (listed under Dalmatia and Albania), Pap. 577, 76; Paolucci 115, 21.
- Michael, Thomas, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1701-1800, 7th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2016.
- [1]Elsen, Philippe, et al., Vente Publique 149: Monnaies, Médailles et Décorations, Brussels: Jean Elsen et ses Fils S.A., 2021.
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