Alvise Mocenigo IV served as Doge from 1763 until his death in 1778, presiding over a Republic already in managed decline — Venice had not fought a serious naval campaign since the loss of the Morea in 1715, and the mint was producing pattern pieces with increasing frequency as ceremonial objects rather than circulating currency. This gold off-metal strike of the half thaler type belongs to that tradition of presentation coinage, almost certainly struck in very small numbers for distribution among foreign dignitaries or the Venetian patriciate itself.
The thaler denominations were themselves unusual for Venice, reflecting northern European commercial influence on the late Republic's monetary thinking. At 13.82 g in near-pure gold, the piece would have carried bullion value far exceeding its face denomination.
Alvise Mocenigo IV served as Doge from 1763 until his death in 1778, presiding over a Republic already in managed decline — Venice had not fought a serious naval campaign since the loss of the Morea in 1715, and the mint was producing pattern pieces with increasing frequency as ceremonial objects rather than circulating currency. This gold off-metal strike of the half thaler type belongs to that tradition of presentation coinage, almost certainly struck in very small numbers for distribution among foreign dignitaries or the Venetian patriciate itself.
The thaler denominations were themselves unusual for Venice, reflecting northern European commercial influence on the late Republic's monetary thinking. At 13.82 g in near-pure gold, the piece would have carried bullion value far exceeding its face denomination.