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2 Tari - Manuel Pinto de Fonseca
| Issuer | Order of St. John (Knights of Malta) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1741 |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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|---|---|
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| Obverse lettering | .F.EMMANVEL. / PINTO.M.M.H.H. |
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| Mintage | 1741 |
| Additional information |
Manuel Pinto de Fonseca held the Grand Mastership longer than almost any other in the Order's history — 72 years his predecessor António Manoel de Vilhena had dominated Maltese coinage, and Pinto de Fonseca would rule from 1741 until 1773, leaving his portrait on virtually every denomination struck across three decades. The 2 Tari was the Order's workhorse silver unit, circulating alongside Sicilian and Neapolitan coinage in the Mediterranean carrying trade that still financed the Knights' increasingly ceremonial sovereignty.
By 1741 the Order was minting primarily for prestige and local commerce rather than crusading logistics. Pinto de Fonseca was Portuguese — unusual among Grand Masters — and his accession year issues like this one are distinguishable from his later coinage by subtle die characteristics that specialists use to sequence his long reign.