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1 Zecchino - Carlo Ruzzini
| Issuer | Zecca di Venezia |
|---|---|
| Year | 1732-1735 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | 3.494 g |
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| Obverse description | Standing figure of Saint Mark the Evangelist, nimbed and robed, facing front in the central field, presenting the banner of Venice to the kneeling Doge Carlo Ruzzini at right, who is shown in ducal robes and corno ducale. Saint Mark holds a long patriarchal staff or banner pole in his left hand while extending his right hand in blessing toward the Doge. The Latin legend CAROL·RVZINI S·M·VENET· DVX surrounds the scene, with the abbreviated title of Saint Mark visible on the left side of the field. The composition follows the long-established Venetian zecchino iconographic tradition. |
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| Reverse script | Latin |
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| Additional information |
Carlo Ruzzini served as Doge from 1732 until his death in 1735, a tenure brief enough that zecchino production under his name was limited. He had spent decades as a diplomat before his election at age eighty-two — the oldest man elevated to the dogeship in Venice's history — and died in office before completing a full three years.
Venetian zecchini held a remarkable consistency enforced by law: the .999 fineness and 3.494g weight had been essentially unchanged since the thirteenth century, making them the dominant gold trade coin of the eastern Mediterranean for over five hundred years. Ruzzini's brief reign accounts for the relative scarcity of his issues against those of longer-serving doges.