Made it to the coin shop for the first time in a couple months. I saw the owner had an envelope of older coppers which were unsorted and unidentified. He didn't look like he wanted to take the time to ID the remaining ones so I made an offer and got the whole lot for $15 US. Most are in pretty rough condition, but in that age range I'm happy with anything I can get cheaply. I've tried to ID one so far: Venice, Soldo, Francesco Erizzo 1631-46 21 mm, 1.28 g. Copper or Billon The "12" at the bottom of the obverse shows it's 12 Bagattini = 1 Soldo It's hard to make out, but I believe the letters "ERIZ" on in the 3:00 position on the OB indicate it was issued under Doge Francisco Erizzo between 1631-46 I think the Rev has Christ holding the Gospel in his left hand, with text around the perimeter reading "DEFEN NOSTA". As usual, I can't find an exact match on Numista, and my 1600s Krause guide doesn't have listings for many of the Italian states minors. I suspect varieties exist anyway. I look forward to seeing if I can figure out some of the rest.
I agree, almost every coin from that time, especially minors, have numerous varieties. I know Krause made a specialized German catalogue, but did they do that with Italy?
Man, this is another collecting rabbit hole that is hard to resist. Every time I see Italian states minors, the pull is strong.
I'm not aware of an Italian States book, but it would be handy if one existed. I just wish the general 1600s book didn't leave out so many minors entirely! Here's my second ID attempt: Copper, 22 mm, 2.41 g Venice 1/2 Soldo ND 1619 (There is a 1680 version which looks very similar.) Ob: Madonna with Child "R C L A 6" "Regina Caeli, Laetare, Alleluia" = Queen of Heaven, Rejoice, Alleluia! 6 Bagattini = 1/2 Soldo Rev: St. Mark holding Gospel "SAN MARC VEN" (St. Mark, Venice)
I think I have another one IDed: Sicily 1714-17 Grano Victor Amadeus II Date is unreadable, but I can read "DD AC" on the obverse to find the mint master. Should put it under Victor Amadeus II somewhere between 1714 and 1717. Rev: "PVBLICA COMMO DITAS"
Vatican City, 1 Quattrino, Pope Alessandro VIII, 1690 Ob: Lion with Banner (you'd have to take my word for it, I guess.) Rev: "BONO NIA DOCET 1690"
Several more of these appear to be Venetian 1 Soldo coppers. I won't post all of them to avoid redundancy. If I can make out a couple letters of the rim I can usually make an educated guess as to which Doge they were issued under. For this one I think I see "IOAN CO"... which is likely Giovanni Cornero II, 1709-12
Group lots of old 17th-18th century coppers? Less than a buck a coin? What’s not to like there? Good cheap (and educational) fun. Can’t beat that!
I think this one is from the short reign of Francesco Contarini. He only lived 14 months after his election to Doge. Design is very similar to the other Venetian 1 Soldo types from this lot. Ob: [SMV] FRANC CON 12 Rev: DEFENS NOSTER Venice 1 Soldo Francesco Contarini 1623-24
This one's a different type from the others in the lot. I think it's a Venice, Quattrino, Mario Grimani, 1604-05 Mine's a little smaller than the example in Numista (19 vs 21 mm), but I don't think the sizes of early Italian coppers were very consistent. I wondered if it might be a 2 Bagattini instead, but the design on that seems quite different. I suspect there may have been copper and billon versions of some of these older Italian states minors with varying weights. There should be a "4" underneath the feet of the Madonna on the obverse, but it's partly off the edge of the coin and hard to be sure.
Cool find, if the ID is what it seems! I like coins from short reigns. And that’s a lot of history for 67 cents!
Thanks for the encouragement! I decided to take a crack of some of the remaining. I believe this one is Republic of Lucca, 1 Quattrino, 1557 (Billon) Ob: Script L surrounded by last 2 digits of date (57) "OTTO IMPERATOR" Rev: Portrait of St. Vultus "VVLTVS SANCTUS"
