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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Travlntiques, post: 1671331, member: 39129&quot;]Beautiful Zecchino (Ducat), though, yes yours looks to be ex-jewelry, still great history. The obverse features St. Mark &amp; the Doge of Venice while the reverse features Jesus surrounded by stars (the number of stars varies with the years).</p><p><br /></p><p>Edit~ Here is some copy &amp; paste info for you:</p><p>&quot;<span style="color: #333333"><font face="Helvetica">The zecchino was a gold coin of Venice.</font></span><span style="color: #333333"><font face="Helvetica">The Italian word zecca refers to mint. The name was the unofficial term for the Ducato of Venice. The name became official about 1550.In English such a coin is called a sequin. It is a gold coin weighed at 3.5 grams of .986 pure gold.</font></span></p><p><span style="color: #333333"><font face="Helvetica">The coin was originally called a Ducat from the ruling Doge of Venice who was prominently depicted on it. The name zecchino came from the name of the Venetian mint, the “zecca”, since 1543, when Venice began minting a silver coin also called a ducat.</font></span></p><p><span style="color: #333333"><font face="Helvetica">In French the Venetian word became “sequin” and it has entered the English language in that form. Following the Venetian model, coins of this sort were used for centuries throughout the Mediterranean, especially near the Persian Gulf. The Venetian gold zecchino first appeared in 1284. The Byzantine Empire imitated it with its basilikon soon thereafter.</font></span></p><p><span style="color: #333333"><font face="Helvetica">In 1478, the Ottoman Empire introduced a monetary unit called the sequin. In 1535, Malta also did so. Both Ottoman and the Maltese coins were gold. In the cultures where these sequins circulated, the custom of stitching sequins and similar coins to women’s clothing, particularly headdresses, face veils, and over the bosom and hips, originally became a way to display (and store) family’s wealth.</font></span></p><p><span style="color: #333333"><font face="Helvetica">It was this ancient custom that led to the use of sequined fabric and trims in modern fashion, thus expanding the definition of sequin beyond coins to include this type of decoration</font></span><span style="color: #000000"><font face="Arial">.&quot;</font></span>[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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