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20 Scudi - Manuel Pinto de Fonseca
| Issuer | Order of Malta (Knights of St. John) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1764 |
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| Currency | Scudo (1530-1825) |
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| Obverse description | Armored and draped bust of Grand Master Manuel Pinto de Fonseca facing left, wearing a long curled wig, rendered in high relief. The circumferential legend reads F. EMMANVEL PINTO M.M. around the upper field, with dots serving as punctuation. The date 1764 appears in the lower exergue, the two central digits flanking a Grand Master's monogram in the form of an ornate M. The milled edge is visible at the coin's border, framing the composition neatly. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse script | Latin |
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| Additional information |
Manuel Pinto de Fonseca held the Grand Mastership longer than almost any other in the Order's history — from 1741 until his death in 1773 at roughly 92 years of age. His tenure coincided with the Order's peak as a Mediterranean naval power, but also with mounting pressure from European states eyeing Malta's strategic position. The 20 Scudi gold issues of his reign were prestige emissions, circulating among diplomats and merchants rather than in everyday commerce.
The .840 fineness reflects the Order's own monetary standard, which diverged from Sicilian and Italian conventions — a deliberate assertion of sovereign coinage rights that Hospitaller grand masters had exercised since Rhodes.