Ramon Perellos y Roccaful served as Grand Master from 1697 to 1720, presiding over Malta during a period when the Order's naval operations against Ottoman and Barbary corsair shipping remained its primary justification for continued existence — and its principal source of income. The zecchino, modeled closely on the Venetian ducat in both fineness and weight, was the Order's prestige gold issue, accepted across Mediterranean trade networks partly on the strength of that near-identical specification.
The .986 fineness held without debasement through Perellos's tenure, a point of some distinction given the chronic fiscal pressure the Order faced maintaining its fleet and the fortifications of Valletta.
Ramon Perellos y Roccaful served as Grand Master from 1697 to 1720, presiding over Malta during a period when the Order's naval operations against Ottoman and Barbary corsair shipping remained its primary justification for continued existence — and its principal source of income. The zecchino, modeled closely on the Venetian ducat in both fineness and weight, was the Order's prestige gold issue, accepted across Mediterranean trade networks partly on the strength of that near-identical specification.
The .986 fineness held without debasement through Perellos's tenure, a point of some distinction given the chronic fiscal pressure the Order faced maintaining its fleet and the fortifications of Valletta.