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4 Tari - Juan de Homedes

Issuer Order of Malta (Knights Hospitaller)
Year 1552
Type Standard circulation coin
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Obverse description Central shield quartered with the arms of Grand Master Juan de Homedes and the arms of the Order of St. John (plain cross), divided by a bold cross pattée into four quarters bearing the respective heraldic charges. The shield is set within a beaded inner circle, surrounded by a circular Latin legend in the field. The coin displays the characteristic irregular flan and bold relief typical of hammered silver coinage of the mid-sixteenth century.
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Mintage 1552
Additional information

Juan de Homedes served as Grand Master from 1536 to 1553, presiding over the Order at a moment of acute Ottoman pressure following the loss of Rhodes in 1522 and the failed siege of Malta in 1551 — just one year before this coin was struck. The 4 Tari was the principal silver denomination of Hospitaller coinage throughout the sixteenth century, minted at Birgu, where the Order had established its operations after relocating from Rhodes.

Restelli #5 is among the scarcer documented varieties of Homedes's silver issues.