Here's a coin that shows up with some frequency on the auction circuit. It is an oncia of 30 tari, Sicily, issued by Ferdinand IV in 1791. This coin was purchased from The Money Company back in 1990. It was included in a large lot (actually a couple of boxes) of coins that I sold to raise funds to purchase our house in mid 1993. I did make arrangements with the coin dealer to buy this coin back, so I guess in a way the money generated by this coin was more of loan than a sale. This is a nice example, but it does have a scratch on the obverse and some irregularities and crudeness typical of this issue, especially with the edge and rim. This coin weighs 68.2 grams C-37a
Love this rare and expensive coin. Back then there were two monetary systems used in the same Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. Sicily had their own coins minted in Palermo and from Naples down to Calabria had their own coins minted in Naples. The King on this coin was Ferdinando di Borbone. This 30 Tari silver coin is so big I wonder if it was used much in circulation. The more common Sicilian 12 Tari Piastra coin was a crown sized coin and it weighed around 27.3 grams. My family members lived in Sicily back then and I wonder if they ever saw or used one of these giant coins.