2 Zecchini / 1/4 Ducato - Alvise Mocenigo IV Pattern

Alvise Mocenigo IV served as Doge from 1763 to 1778, but this pattern was struck during the opening years of his reign when the Zecca was experimenting with a fractional ducat denomination that never entered regular production. The 2 Zecchini valuation placed it in an awkward position between established denominations, which likely explains why it remained a pattern — Venice's monetary conservatism was notorious, and the Senate had little appetite for denominations that disrupted the zecchino's centuries-old commercial role in Levantine trade.

CNI VIII#57 places this among a small cluster of Mocenigo IV patterns, none of which progressed to circulation strikes.