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1/4 Ducato - Manuele and Paleologo Zaccaria
| Issuer | Lordship of Chios (Zaccaria family) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1307-1310 |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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|---|---|
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| Reverse description | A bold cross pattee is displayed at the center of the field, enclosed within a prominent pearled circle. The arms of the cross extend nearly to the beaded border, executed in the plain hammered style characteristic of Genoese colonial coinage of the early 14th century. The surrounding legend in uncial Latin identifies the issuing city. The overall design follows the conventional cross-type reverse employed across Genoese colonial issues of the Aegean. |
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| Reverse lettering | + CIVITAS · SXI · (Translation: City of Chios) |
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| Additional information |
The Zaccaria lordship of Chios was a Genoese commercial venture as much as a political one — the family had acquired the island primarily to control its alum deposits, among the most valuable industrial mineral sources in the medieval Mediterranean. Manuele and Paleologo Zaccaria co-issued this fractional gold piece during their joint rule, a brief window before Genoese political pressure and Byzantine maneuvering ended the family's grip on the island by 1329.
Fractional ducato issues from minor Aegean lordships of this period are exceptionally rare survivors. At 0.85g, this denomination served interregional trade circuits where Venetian ducats dominated but local fractions were operationally necessary.