Catalog
1 Carlino - Pietro del Monte
| Issuer | Order of Malta (Knights Hospitaller) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1568-1572 |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Obverse lettering | ☩ • F • PETRVS DE MONTE • M • H • H • (Translation: Fra` Pietro del Monte, master of the Hospitallers of Jerusalem.) |
| Reverse description | A boldly struck cross of the Order of St. John — a plain cross pattée with concave ends — occupies the central field, set within a beaded inner circle. The design is characteristic of Hospitaller coinage, with the cross filling the flan and emphasising the Order's identity. The surrounding Latin legend ☩ • S • IO • B • ORA • PRONO • BIS • invokes Saint John the Baptist, patron of the Order, in an appeal for intercession. The hammered strike produces a slightly uneven border consistent with mid-16th-century Maltese mint practice. |
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| Additional information |
Pietro del Monte became Grand Master of the Order of Malta in 1568, just six years after the catastrophic Great Siege of 1565, when Ottoman forces under Suleiman the Magnificent came within days of overrunning the island entirely. The Order's coinage from his tenure reflects an institution still rebuilding — financially, militarily, and politically — following losses that had devastated both manpower and the treasury.
The carlino denomination itself derived from the Neapolitan monetary system, a pragmatic borrowing given the Order's close dependence on the Kingdom of Naples for supply lines and political cover throughout this period.