Venice (1714-15)-AM 1/4 ducato
This specimen was lot 1369 in Jean Elsen sale 108 (Brussels, March 2011) where it sold for 160 euros (about US$263 including buyer's fee). The catalog description[1] noted,
"ITALIE, VENISE, Giovanni Corner II (1709-1722), AR quart de ducat, s.d. (1714-1715), Sigle AM (Alvise Minotto). Droit: Le doge agenouillé à gauche devant saint Marc, tenant une bannière. Revers: Lion ailé debout à gauche devant une tour. Très Beau" (Venice, John Corner II (1709-22) silver quarter ducat, no date but 1714-15 from the mintmaster initial AM for Alvise Minotto. Obverse: the doge, holding a banner, kneels before St. Mark; reverse: Winged lion facing left, supporting a tower. Very Fine.)
The Republic of Venice lasted nearly a thousand years between its foundation as a Byzantine outpost and its destruction by Napoleon in 1797. By 1714, Venice was in serious decline, her aristocracy decayed and her trade swallowed up by the British and the French. Venice did not add dates to her coinage until the mid-eighteenth century, two centuries after the rest of Europe adopted the practice.
Reported Mintage: unknown.
Specification: silver, this specimen 5.61 g.
Catalog reference: KM unlisted, Paolucci, 118, 27; Pap., 603, 56.
- Michael, Thomas, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1701-1800, 7th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2016.
- [1]Elsen, Philippe, et al., Vente Publique 108, Brussels: Jean Elsen et ses Fils, S.A., 2011.
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