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4 Zecchini - Marc'Antonio Zondadari
| Issuer | Order of Malta (Knights of St. John) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1722 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | 13.82 g |
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| Obverse description | Armored and draped bust of Grand Master Marc'Antonio Zondadari facing right, with long flowing wig rendered in fine detail. The effigy is portrayed in a dignified baroque style typical of early 18th-century Maltese coinage. The date 1722 appears in the exergue below the bust. The circular legend runs along the coin's border, interrupted at the base by the date. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse script | Latin |
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| Additional information |
Zondadari served as Grand Master for only four years, 1720–1722, dying in office before his tenure could produce much beyond this and a handful of smaller denominations. The 4 Zecchini was the Order's highest-denomination gold issue, struck in the Valletta mint in extremely limited numbers — Grand Mastership deaths typically halted production mid-cycle, leaving some issues with very small surviving populations.
The .986 fineness places this fractionally above the Venetian zecchino standard the Order deliberately mirrored, a calculation meant to keep Hospitaller gold credible in eastern Mediterranean trade networks where bullion reputation was tested constantly.