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1 Osella - Francesco Loredan
| Issuer | Republic of Venice |
|---|---|
| Year | 1759 |
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| Shape | Round |
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| Obverse description | Standing allegorical figure of Religion on a raised pedestal at center, holding a tall processional cross in her right hand; St. Mark the Evangelist stands at lower left, while Doge Francesco Loredan kneels in devotion at lower right. The mintmaster's initials appear in the exergue below. The Latin dedicatory legend is disposed around the field, identifying the doge by name and title. |
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| Edge | Plain |
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| Additional information |
The osella was Venice's answer to a problem of ceremonial obligation — doges had long distributed live wildfowl (the word derives from *uccello*, bird) to the Great Council each January, and by the sixteenth century that practice had been monetized into struck pieces distributed annually in their place. Each year's osella carried a unique reverse design, making the series a de facto run of annual medals with legal-tender pretensions. Loredan's dogeship lasted from 1752 until his death in 1762, making this 1759 issue one of eight annual osellas struck under his authority.
Gold examples were reserved exclusively for the highest-ranking recipients; the vast majority of osellas struck in any given year were silver.