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1 Zecchino - John de la Cassiere
| Issuer | Order of Malta (Knights of St. John) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1572-1581 |
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| Value | 1 Zecchino = 32 Tari (8⁄3) |
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| Obverse description | St. John the Baptist, depicted standing facing and nimbate, presents the banner of the Order with his right hand to the Grand Master Jean de la Cassière, who kneels in devotion to the left in a posture of obeisance. The figures are rendered in the Byzantine-influenced style typical of Hospitaller coinage, with the saint's elongated form dominating the composition. The Grand Master is shown in full regalia, with the scene enclosed within a beaded inner border. The obverse legend, incuse in Latin, identifies the Grand Master by name and title. |
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| Reverse script | Latin |
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| Additional information |
John de la Cassiere served as Grand Master during one of the most consequential decades in the Order's history — his tenure began just one year after the Battle of Lepanto, the 1571 naval engagement in which the Order's galleys fought under the Holy League against the Ottoman fleet. The psychological and financial aftermath of that campaign shaped nearly every aspect of the Order's minting activity throughout the 1570s.
The Zecchino denomination was the Order's deliberate echo of the Venetian ducat, adopted to facilitate trade credibility across Mediterranean markets where Venetian gold commanded automatic acceptance.