4 Tari - Hugues Loubenx de Verdala Fiduciary

Hugues Loubenx de Verdala was elected Grand Master in 1581 and secured a cardinalate from Sixtus V in 1587 — an unusual distinction that gave him standing in Rome rarely held by his predecessors. This copper 4 Tari is a fiduciary issue, meaning its face value was backed by the Order's authority rather than intrinsic metal content, a practical necessity for an organization running a sovereign state, a hospital, and a naval operation simultaneously on a limestone island with no indigenous coinage tradition.

Gatt's cataloguing of this type remains the primary reference for Hospitaller copper; the low survival rate of circulating fiduciary copper from this period keeps even modest examples scarce.