Manuel Pinto de Fonseca held the Grand Mastership of the Order of Malta longer than almost any other in its history — 54 years, from 1741 to 1773 — and his coinage reflects an administration wealthy enough to pursue aggressive building programs across Valletta. The 4 Tarì was the workhorse denomination of Hospitaller silver, circulating not just within Malta but throughout the central Mediterranean trading networks the Order depended on for revenue.
Pinto's early issues from 1741 are distinguished from his later strikes by subtle die differences that specialists use to sequence the series. The Tarì itself derived from an older Sicilian unit, retained by the Order well after it had fallen out of use on the mainland.
Manuel Pinto de Fonseca held the Grand Mastership of the Order of Malta longer than almost any other in its history — 54 years, from 1741 to 1773 — and his coinage reflects an administration wealthy enough to pursue aggressive building programs across Valletta. The 4 Tarì was the workhorse denomination of Hospitaller silver, circulating not just within Malta but throughout the central Mediterranean trading networks the Order depended on for revenue.
Pinto's early issues from 1741 are distinguished from his later strikes by subtle die differences that specialists use to sequence the series. The Tarì itself derived from an older Sicilian unit, retained by the Order well after it had fallen out of use on the mainland.