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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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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | 3.39 g |
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| Reverse description | Christ nimbate, depicted in a frontal standing pose within an almond-shaped mandorla, rendered in a hieratic Byzantine style consistent with the Hospitaller zecchino tradition derived from the Venetian ducat prototype. Ten five-pointed stars, five on each side, flank the mandorla symmetrically within the field, serving as devotional symbols. The reverse legend, running along the beaded outer border, is a Latin votive inscription. The overall design follows closely the Venetian zecchino iconographic tradition, adapted to the religious symbolism of the Order of St. John. |
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| Reverse lettering | DA MICHI VIRTVT CONTRA HOSTES T (Translation: Da mihi virtutem contra hostes tuos: Give me the strength against thy enemies.) |
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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.