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15 Tarì - Manuel Pinto de Fonseca
| Issuer | Order of Malta (Knights of St. John) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1757-1759 |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Full-length standing figure of Saint John the Baptist, depicted unclothed and facing slightly left, his right hand raised and his left arm cradling a processional banner or standard. A lamb stands at his feet in the lower right field, representing the Agnus Dei. The legend NON SVRREXIT MAIOR encircles the upper field, with the denomination T.XV appearing in the exergue. Sparse ground foliage is present at the base of the figure. |
| Reverse script | Latin |
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| Additional information |
Manuel Pinto de Fonseca served as Grand Master of the Order of Malta from 1741 until his death in 1773 — one of the longest tenures in the Order's modern history. By the 1750s, the Order's financial position was increasingly precarious, with revenues from European commanderies shrinking as Enlightenment-era governments grew hostile to the privileges of religious military orders. The 15 Tarì occupied a practical middle denomination in Malta's complex monetary system, where the Tarì itself was a unit inherited from the earlier Norman and Aragonese administrations of Sicily.
The narrow two-year window for this particular issue, 1757–1759, likely reflects a specific recoinage or bullion contract rather than continuous production across Pinto's reign.