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Gigliato - Hélion de Villeneuve 2nd type
| Issuer | Order of the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem (Hospitallers), Rhodes |
|---|---|
| Year | 1319-1346 |
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| Reference(s) | Schlumb#IX, 18, Metcalf1#1184 |
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| Reverse description | A bold cross fleury occupies the centre of the reverse field, its four arms terminating in stylized fleur-de-lis blooms, each arm additionally adorned with a shield at its extremity — a distinctive feature of the second type of this issue. The design is executed in high relief typical of hammered medieval silver coinage. A circular legend in uncial Latin script runs within a beaded border around the perimeter of the coin, invoking the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem and Rhodes. The overall design reflects the influence of the Angevin gigliato prototype adapted to Hospitaller iconography. |
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| Reverse lettering | ✠ · OSPTAL` · S` · IOhIS · IRLnI · QT` · RODI · |
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| Additional information |
Hélion de Villeneuve consolidated Hospitaller control over Rhodes — seized from the Byzantines in 1309 — and used coinage as an instrument of administrative legitimacy on the island. The gigliato design was borrowed directly from the Angevin kings of Naples, whose Charles II had introduced it decades earlier; the Hospitallers adopted it precisely because it was already trusted currency across the eastern Mediterranean trade networks they depended on.
The 2nd type is distinguished from the 1st by subtle die modifications documented by Schlumberger and refined in Metcalf's corpus. Villeneuve's grand mastership lasted nearly three decades, making this one of the longer-running Hospitaller issues of the 14th century.