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20 Grani - Manuel Pinto de Fonseca
| Issuer | Malta |
|---|---|
| Year | 1752-1762 |
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| Composition | Copper |
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| Reverse description | Two clasped hands in the center of the field, symbolizing the pledge of faith and alliance, a recurring emblem on the coinage of the Knights of Malta. The date appears above the central device and the denomination in Roman numerals is displayed below. The encircling legend is divided by small Maltese crosses serving as word separators, and the entire design is contained within a beaded border. |
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| Mintage | 1752 - - 1762 - - |
| Additional information |
Manuel Pinto de Fonseca held the Grand Mastership of the Order of St. John longer than any other in the order's Maltese period — from 1741 until his death in 1773 at a reputed age of ninety-two. His coinage reforms of the early 1750s reorganized the island's copper currency into a more rational tariff structure, partly in response to chronic shortages and the circulation of debased foreign coppers that had been undermining small transactions for decades. The 20 Grani occupied the heaviest denomination in that copper series.
Dies for this type were cut in Valletta rather than contracted to Italian mints, which accounts for the inconsistency in strike quality seen across surviving examples.