I picked this up last week. It arrived today and the description given not over stated. I am more than please to add this to my ancient collection, which slowly continues to grow. I'm very choosy but then in ancients, there's so much to choose from. Pietro Gradenigo (1251–1311) was the 49th Doge of Venice, reigning from 1289 to his death. The Doge of Venice all derived from Latin dūx, "military leader", sometimes translated as Duke (compare the Italian Duca), was the chief magistrate and leader of the Most Serene Republic of Venice for 1,100 years (697-1797). When he was elected Doge, he was serving as the chief magistrate of Capodistria in Istria. Venice suffered a serious blow with the fall of Acre, the last Crusader stronghold in the Holy Land, to the Mamluks of Egypt in 1291. War between Venice and Genoa; (Genoa is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and is the 6th largest city in Italy); began in 1294, and Venice sustained some serious losses: it lost a naval battle, its possessions in Crete were pillaged and the Byzantine emperor, Andronikos II, arrested many Venetians in Constantinople. In response, the Venetian fleet sacked Galata and threatened the imperial palace of Blachernae, but on September 9, 1298 they lost again. This time at Curzola, which was a navel disaster. Eventually, in 1299 the two republics signed a peace treaty. Doge Gradenigo was responsible for the so-called Serrata del Maggior Consiglio, the Great Council Lockout, which refers to the constitutional process, started with the 1297 Ordinance, by means of which membership of the Great Council of Venice became an hereditary title. Since it was the Great Council that had the right to elect the Doge, the 1297 Ordinance marked a relevant change in the constitution of the Republic. This resulted in the exclusion of minor aristocrats and plebeian from participating to the government of the Republic. Although formerly provisional, the Ordinance later became a permanent Act and since then it was disregarded only at times of political or financial crisis. This new law, passed in February 1297, restricted membership of the future Councils only to the descendants of those nobles who were its members between 1293 and 1297. This move created a virtually oligarchic system, (meaning 'few' and 'to rule or to command'), is a form of power structure in which power rests with a small number of people. This disenfranchised a great majority of the citizens and provoked unrest. In 1308, during Gradenigo's reign as Doge, Venice became involved in war with the Papacy over the control of Ferrara and on 27 March 1309 the Republic was excommunicated by Pope Clement V, barring all Christians from trading with Venice. The Doge's policy, seen by many as disastrous, led to a plot to depose him and the Great Council, led by Bajamonte Tiepolo and other members of the aristocratic families. On June 15, 1310, the coup failed and its leaders were severely punished. Tiepolo's plot led to the creation of the Council of Ten, initially as a temporary institution, which later evolved into the permanent body which in reality governed the Republic. On August 13, 1311, Gradenigo died. Since Venice was under interdict (authoritative prohibition) religious ceremonies could not be held so he was buried in an unmarked grave on Murano. He was married first to Tomasina Morosini (with whom he had a daughter, Anna, wife of Jacopo I da Carrara) and then to Agnese Zantani. Cataloguers pretty much disagree on which is the obverse and reverse on Venetian silver, some placing the king on the obverse, some placing Christ on the obverse. It doesn't matter to me as this is a nice coin showing a little wear. The detail and surfaces are outstanding. Thank you for putting this up for sale Sallent. It's now in Collecting Nut's collection, where it will remain for years to come. ITALY, Venezia. Pietro Gradenigo, AD 1289-1311. AR Grosso, 20mm, 2.18g, 6h. Obv.: IC - XC; Christ Pantokrator enthroned facing. Rev.: PE GRADONICO DVX S M VENETI; Doge and Saint Mark standing facing, holding banner between them. Reference: Paolucci 2. From the Sallent Collection These are not my photos. Thanks for letting me use them John Anthony.
Congrats @Collecting Nut I really liked that grosso, and think you got a heck of a coin. The grosso is one of the most iconic coins of medieval Europe.
This comes up on several coins because there is no complete agreement on what makes a side an obverse and what makes it a reverse. Technical people will tell you that the obverse was on the bottom when struck with the reverse above. Some will mention that this last feature is hard to tell from coins struck with pincher dies. Some will say the most important side is the obverse and Christ outranks St. Mark and the Doge so it does not matter what other factors you consider. My answer, "It doesn't matter to me as this is a nice coin." My example is a different doge (Raineri Zeno 1253- 1268 AD) but similar otherwise.
Obverse, by convention, is always the side with the "highest authority" on the coin in relation to the other side. As such, in the case of these coins, it is always Christ and then the Doge/Saint...
Great coins! I have a humble collection of venetian coins, specially the matapans. There are four types since it was created by doge Enrico Dandolo in 1193 until doge Cristoforo Moro around 1470. There are a great variation with very common types to the most rarest. Here I post not a grosso, but a Lira Trono, one of the first coins of the renaissance with better silver concentration, higher weight and diameter, which influenced the creation of the Italian testone and then, throughout the rest of Europe. The problem here was the use of the doge's portrait, considered, as in the times of the Roman Republic, an affront to the republican ideals and thus, a supposed pretention of the Doge in becoming a monarchical sovereign. Thus, only coins with allegorical drawings of the doge could be part of the venetian coinage. Nicollò Tron was the only doge to coin coins with his own effigy. This coin I was bought on CNG eletronic auction 5 years ago. Venezia. Nicolò Tron. 1471-1473. AR Trono – 20 Soldi (27mm, 6.26 g). Bust left / Winged, nimbate lion standing left, holding Gospel; all within wreath. Papadopoli 5; Paolucci 2.
Many thanks @TheRed and @dougsmit. And @Quant.Geek, I agree that the higher authority rules. @Multatuli thanks for the information. I really like this coin and I've learned a lot doing a little research and from all of your comments. Have a great weekend. I'm heading home, with my new coin of course.
