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Fiorino - In name of Otto
| Issuer | Republic of Lucca (Lucca, Italian States) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1270-1316 |
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| Currency | Lira (1160-1530) |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Frontal bust of the Volto Santo (Holy Face of Lucca), a venerated relic image of Christ, rendered in left profile in archaic Byzantine style. The crowned bearded effigy is depicted with long flowing hair, wearing robes, the figure occupying most of the coin's field. The circular legend, commencing at lower left, reads in uncial Latin characters and is interrupted by pellet stops. The bold, high-relief hammered execution is characteristic of the Lucchese monetary tradition. |
|---|---|
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| Edge | Plain |
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| Additional information |
Lucca's decision to strike gold florins in the name of Otto — the Holy Roman Emperor Otto IV — was a calculated political maneuver long after Otto himself had died in 1218. The city continued invoking his name on coinage for nearly a century, a legal fiction that kept the coins acceptable across imperial trade networks while insulating Lucca from the need to acknowledge any subsequent emperor. Florence had pioneered the florin type in 1252, and Lucca's imitation was frank commercial pragmatism: the Tuscan trade circuits ran on florins, and Lucca needed interoperable currency.
The specific weight standard — tracking Florence closely — was the point. Otto's name was just the wrapper.