1 Osella - Francesco Loredan

The osella was Venice's answer to a problem of ceremony: doges were traditionally obligated to distribute live wildfowl (uccelli, hence the name) to members of the Great Council each January, a custom eventually commuted to struck silver — and occasionally gold — presentation pieces beginning in 1521. By Loredan's dogeship the series was well into its mature phase, with each new doge commissioning a fresh type annually, making the sequence one of the longest-running personal presentation coinages in European history.

Francesco Loredan served as doge from 1752 until his death in 1762. The gold strikes of any osella year represent a tiny fraction of total production — silver was the standard metal, and gold examples were reserved for the most elevated recipients.