Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
2 Zecchini - Giovanni Paolo Lascaris Castellar
| Issuer | Order of St. John |
|---|---|
| Year | 1636-1657 |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Latin |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Central device comprising the quartered heraldic shield of the Order of St. John impaled with the personal arms of Lascaris Castellar, surmounted by a crown with fleur-de-lis finials. The upper quarters display the cross of the Order on a plain field, while the lower quarters bear the Lascaris eagle displayed. A granular border frames the entire design. The surrounding Latin legend IN HOSTES ET ERGA HOSPITES — meaning 'Against enemies and towards guests' — is distributed across the upper and lower portions of the coin's periphery, serving as the Grand Master's personal motto. |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
Lascaris Castellar, Grand Master from 1636 to 1657, presided over Malta during one of the Knights' most financially strained periods — the cost of maintaining galley fleets against Ottoman and Barbary corsair activity drained the Order's treasury continuously. The double zecchino was struck to facilitate large transactions, primarily among merchants and the Order's own banking operations, rather than for general island circulation.
The Maltese zecchino was deliberately modeled on the Venetian ducat standard, which dominated Mediterranean trade finance for centuries. Fr#11a distinguishes this issue from the commoner Fr#11 by a variation in the reverse die, a distinction first catalogued by Friedberg.