Catherine Cornaro was a Venetian noblewoman who became Queen of Cyprus through her marriage to James II in 1472 — a union engineered by the Republic of Venice to extend its commercial and strategic grip over the island. James died within a year of the marriage, leaving Catherine pregnant; their infant son James III survived only months, making Catherine sole ruler. This joint issue, struck during the brief overlap of their nominal co-reign, represents one of the few physical artifacts of that arrangement before Venice effectively absorbed Cyprus outright in 1489, when it pressured Catherine to abdicate and cede the kingdom.
Catherine Cornaro was a Venetian noblewoman who became Queen of Cyprus through her marriage to James II in 1472 — a union engineered by the Republic of Venice to extend its commercial and strategic grip over the island. James died within a year of the marriage, leaving Catherine pregnant; their infant son James III survived only months, making Catherine sole ruler. This joint issue, struck during the brief overlap of their nominal co-reign, represents one of the few physical artifacts of that arrangement before Venice effectively absorbed Cyprus outright in 1489, when it pressured Catherine to abdicate and cede the kingdom.