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1 Grano - Manuel Pinto de Fonseca
| Issuer | Order of Malta (Knights of St. John) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1751 |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Obverse description | Five crescents arranged in quincunx pattern in the central field, each with horns pointing upward, referencing the heraldic arms associated with the Pinto de Fonseca family. A small star or mullet appears at the top of the field above the crescent arrangement. The surrounding circular legend reads F·EMMANVEL PINTO M·M·H·H·, denoting Grand Master Fra' Emanuel Pinto, with the inscription running between a beaded inner border and the milled outer rim. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Latin |
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| Additional information |
Manuel Pinto de Fonseca served as Grand Master of the Order from 1741 until his death in 1773 — one of the longest tenures in the Order's modern history. By the mid-eighteenth century, the Knights' actual military function had largely dissolved, and the Maltese monetary system existed primarily to assert the Order's sovereign status rather than meet any pressing commercial need. Small copper issues like this one circulated alongside Sicilian and other Mediterranean coinage on the island, the Order's mint output never quite sufficient to dominate local exchange.