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10 Grani - Manuel Pinto de Fonseca
| Issuer | Order of Malta (Knights Hospitaller) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1748-1771 |
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| Orientation | Medal alignment ↑↑ |
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| Obverse description | Central ornate cartouche surmounted by a Grand Master's crown, enclosing the arms of Manuel Pinto de Fonseca — a shield bearing the de Fonseca family device — flanked by decorative baroque scrollwork. A circular legend in Latin runs along the inner border. The coin is struck with a milled edge and exhibits characteristic Order of Malta heraldic styling. |
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| Mintage | 1748 - - 1752 - - 1754 - - 1755 - - 1757 - - 1771 - - |
| Additional information |
Manuel Pinto de Fonseca held the Grand Mastership longer than almost any other in the Order's history — from 1741 to 1773, a span of 32 years. By the mid-18th century, the Order's coinage was more a political statement of sovereign authority over Malta than a practical monetary instrument, the island's economy running heavily on foreign specie. Copper fractions like this were the exception: genuinely circulated among the Maltese population for small transactions, handled by people who rarely touched the Order's silver.
Pinto was Portuguese by birth, which made his election controversial among the predominantly French faction of Knights.