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ITALY - VENICE - RANIERI ZENO, 1253-1268 (45th Doge) - Grosso n.d.
weight 1,97gr. ; silver Ø 21mm.
obv. The doge standing, receiving a flag from St. Marco, nimbate;
next to the doge in a vertical column, DVX, surrounded by the legend;
•RA•GENO• - S.M.VENETI
rev. Christ seated facing on throne, holding book of gospels;
IC / XC (with overbars) either side of nimbus
In Eastern Christianity, the most widely used Christogram is a four-letter abbreviation, ΙϹ ΧϹ — a traditional abbreviation of the Greek words for ″Jesus Christ″ (i.e., the first and last letters of each of the words ″ΙΗϹΟΥϹ ΧΡΙϹΤΟϹ″, with the lunate sigma ″Ϲ″ common in medieval Greek), and written with titlo (diacritic) denoting scribal abbreviation (І҃С Х҃С). On icons, this Christogram may be split: ″ΙϹ″on the left of the image and ″ΧϹ″ on the right.
Reniero Zeno (Venetian: Renieri Zen) was the 45th Doge of Venice, reigning from January 1, 1253 until his death in 1268. The first references to Zeno in historical sources describe him as a diplomat in France and Italy, where he was excommunicated for having pushed Bologna to avoid paying tributes to the Papal States. In 1240 he helped Doge Jacopo Tiepolo during the siege of Ferrara, in 1242 put down a revolt in Zara and in 1244 he was named capitano generale da Mar (fleet commander) of the Republic of Venice. He was also the podestà (Chief Magistrate) of numerous Italian cities.
After the death of Marino Morosini, Zeno, who was then podestà of Fermo, was elected Doge with 21 out of 41 votes. In 1256–1259 he, already lifted from the excommunication, helped Pope Alexander IV and Treviso in the war for the Marca Trevigiana against the Ghibelline warlord Ezzelino IV da Romano, whose death resolved the conflict. In the meantime, Venice found itself engaged in a war against the Republic of Genoa, its greatest rival in the Mediterranean. The cause of the conflict was the sacking by the Genoese of the Venetian quarter in Tyre. When the future Doge Lorenzo Tiepolo destroyed the Genoese fleet in 1257, Genoa allied with Michael VIII Palaeologus, who in 1261 captured Constantinople, putting an end to the Latin Empire and awarding Genoans the privileges formerly held by Venetians. Venice replied by building a large fleet which again defeated the Genoese in Settepozzi in 1263.
In 1268 a five-year truce was signed with Byzantine Empire which restored to the Venetians many of their former priviliegies, establishing an uneasy balance between the two maritime republics, allowing them to compete freely in the Levant. Also, under Zeno′s reign a series of 129 law articles were approved which gave Venice a modern maritime legislation. Zeno died in Venice on 7 July 1268. His dogaressa was Loicia da Prata, described as beautiful and charitable. He was interred in the Basilica di San Giovanni e Paolo, a traditional burial place of the doges.
cf. CNI pl. II, 1; Papadopoli 1; Scarfèa 32.; Paolucci p. 19.1;
Zub-Luciani 63 ; Biaggi 2775
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ITALY - PRINCIPIALITY OF THE LOMBARDS - RADELCHIS, 839-851 - Denaro, Benevento
weight 1,18gr. ; silver Ø 19mm.
obv. Monogram of Radelchis surrounded by the legend;
+ PRINCЄ BЄNЄBЄNTI (translation; Princeps Benevento)
rev. Cross potent set on three steps, star in right field, surrounded
by the legend; ARHAИVЄLV ИIAE (translation; Archangelus Michael)
The duchy of Benevento was created in southern Italy in the late 6th when Italy was conquered by the Lombards. Benevento was elevated to a principality after Charlemagne′s conquest of the Lombard kingdom and it managed thereafter for the most of the time to maintain its independence from the Franks. It was however in 840 partitioned into three parts (Benevento, Capua and Salerno). All these so called Lombard principalities were conquered by the Normans in the 11tth and then merged into the kingdom of Sicily, which was created in 1130. A small fraction of the the principality of Benevento (the city itself) became however a part of the Papal States and remained, apart from 1806-1815 when Napoleon′s minister Talleyrand was its prince, under Papal rule until the unification of Italy in 1860.
Radelchis I (also Radalgis) (died 851) was the treasurer, then prince of Benevento from 839, when he assumed the throne upon the assassination (possibly at his instigation) of Sicard and imprisonment of Sicard′s brother, Siconulf, to his death, though in his time the principality was divided. According to the Chronica S. Benedicti Casinensis, the gastald of Capua, Landulf the Old, who had been an ally of Sicard, freed the imprisoned Siconulf and, with the support of Guaifer, chief of the Dauferidi family of Salerno, brought him to that city to be proclaimed prince in opposition to Radelchis. This was the beginning of a civil war which was to last more than a decade.
In 841, Radelchis brought in the aid of Saracen mercenaries, as Andrew II of Naples had four years prior. The mercenaries sacked the city of Capua, forcing Landulf to found a new capital nearby on the hill of Triflisco. Siconulf responded by leasing his own band of Saracens. The depredations of the two Christian rulers and their Saracen helpers so disturbed the king of Italy, Louis II, that when he was crowned co-emperor in 850, he immediately set out to pacify the Mezzogiorno. In 851, he forced a peace on Radelchis and Siconulf and expelled the Saracens from Benevento (warriors from the Emirate of Bari, whom Radelchis happily betrayed). He divided the principality permanently. Radelchis did not live long thereafter and was succeeded by his son Radelgar.
MEC I- ; Biaggi- ; cf. BMC Vandal p. 181 ;
cf. CNI XVIII, 179 ; cf. Sambon 443 RRRR
Small flan crack and some edge damage.
Important historical coin of the highest rarity.
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ITALY - AQUILA - CHARLES VIII OF FRANCE, 1495 - Cavallo n.d.
weight 1,52gr. ; copper Ø 17mm.
obv. Crowned shield of France surrounded by the legend;
CAROLVS✶REX✶FRA
rev. Short cross within circle, eagle with spead wings below.
In outer circle the legend; + AQVILANA - CIVITAS
On the occasion of the death of the King of Naples, Ferdinand of Aragon (died January 25, 1494), Charles VIII entered Italy in September to claim his inheritance. After crossing Italy without emcombre he arrived in Naples Jan. 22, 1495. His solemn entry was celebrated May 12, 1495 and Charles VIII was proclaimed King of Sicily and Jerusalem. On May 20, he left Naples, leaving a viceroy, a French coalition attacking French troops from northern Italy. Following the lifting of the Neapolitans, the French lost the town. Taranto was the last French place down, February 25, 1497.
Biaggi 128var. ; cf. Ciani 870 ; Duplessy 625B R
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ITALY - AQUILEIA - ANTONIO II PANCIERA DI PORTOGRUARO, 1402-1411 - Denaro n.d.
weight 0,42gr. ; silver Ø 17mm.
obv. Patriarchal coat-of-arms within dotted circle.
In outer circle the legend; + ANTONIVS❃PATRIARCA
rev. Eagle facing, head left, with wings displayed, within dotted circle.
In outer circle the legend; AQV❃ ILE❃ GEN❃SIS
Antonio Panciera was born in 1350 at Portogruaro. He studied law at the University of Padua, and worked in the papal administration. From 1393 he was bishop of Concordia, and from 1402 to 1411 he was Patriarch of Aquileia. In 1403 he was able to obtain the palatine title of the castle of Zoppola. This caused a crisis with the other Friulian nobles, after which Panciera followed a pro-Venetian policy, leading the people of Cividale del Friuli to ask his removal to Pope Gregory XII. On 31 June 1408 he was therefore replaced as patriarch by Antonio di Ponte, but, with the support of some cardinals who opposed Gregory, he obtained his reinstatement at the Council of Basel.
In 1411 he was elected cardinal by John XXIII in order to free the Aquileian throne to Louis of Teck, a nobleman whose German allegiances were useful for the antipope. Pancieri remained in Friuli, but in 1412 he was forced to flee. In 1414 he took part in the Council of Constance, being among the accusators of Gregory XII. In 1417 he participated in the election of Pope Martin V, who made him administrator of Satriano and then of Frascati (1420). Later Panciera became abbot of Concordia, but never moved there. He died in 1431 and was buried in the Vatican grottoes under St. Peter′s Basilica.
CNI VI 1 ; Biaggi 191 ; Bernardi 67
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SYRIA - CRUSADERS, PRINCIPALITY OF ANTIOCH - BOHEMUND III, 1163-1201 - AR Denier n.d.
weight 0,94gr. ; silver Ø 18mm.
obv. Helmeted head left, mail composed of crescents, star right, crescent left.
+ BOAMVNDVS
rev. Cross pattée, with crescent pointing downwards in second angle.
+ ANTIOCHIA
Bohemund III of Antioch, also known as Bohemund the Child or the Stammerer, was Prince of Antioch from 1163 to 1201. Bohemund was the elder son of Constance, Princess of Antioch, and her first husband, Raymond of Poitiers. He was born around 1148. Prince Raymond died fighting against Nur ad-Din, atabeg of Aleppo, in the Battle of Inab on 29 June 1149. Constance re-married with Raynald of Châtillon, a French knight who had recently settled in Syria. Raynald ruled the principality as Constance′s husband from 1153 until he was captured by Majd al-Din, governor of Aleppo, in late November 1160 or 1161. Constance wanted to retain power but her son Bohemund was proclaimed the rightful ruler in 1163. He fell into captivity in the Battle of Artah in 1164, but the victorious Nur ad-Din, atabeg of Aleppo released him to avoid coming into conflict with the Byzantine Empire. Bohemund remained a close ally of the Byzantine Empire. He fought against Mleh, Lord of Armenian Cilicia, assisting in the restoration of Byzantine rule in the Cilician plain. He also made alliances with the Muslim rulers of Aleppo and Damascus against Saladin, who had begun to unite the Muslim countries along the borders of the crusader states. Bohemund forced the Armenian rulers of Cilicia to accept his suzerainty in the late 1180′s. He also secured the County of Tripoli for his second son, Bohemund, in 1187. However, Saladin occupied almost the whole Principality of Antioch in the summer of 1188. To preserve the peace with Saladin, Bohemund did not provide military assistance to the crusaders during the Third Crusade. Leo of Cilicia′s expansionist policy in the 1190′s gave rise to a lasting conflict between Antioch and Cilicia. Bohemund was captured in 1194 by Leo, who tried to seize Antioch, but the burghers formed a commune and expelled the Armenian soldiers from the town. Bohemund was released only after he acknowledged Leo′s independence. Bohemund died in April 1201.
MPS.65-68 ; Schlumberger III, 4
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ITALY - GENOVA (GENOA) - FILIPPO MARIA VISCONTI, 1421-1435 - Grosso n.d.
weight 2,47gr. ; silver Ø 22mm.
obv. Stylized castle (city gate of Genoa) between F - m,
in cornice of arches within dotted circle. In outer circle the legend;
F ✿ M ✿ DVX ✿ MЄDIOLAIII ✿ D ✿ IA
rev. Cross patente in cornice of arches within dotted circle.
In outer circle the legend; +: COIIRADVS ✿ RЄX ✿ ROIIA ✿ A
The 2nd half of the 14th century is marked by violent feuds between merchant families and families in shipping. The office of doge was monopolised by the Adorno and Fregoso families. Genoa lost important strongholds in the Levant. Genoa decreased in importance due to the rise of city states Milan and Florence, and to the might of France. Foreigners now were doge. In 1421 the power fell to Filippo Maria Visconti, duke of Milan, and he became the new ″signore″ of Genoa. In the summer of 1435 the Duke of Milan dispatched the Genoese navy to relieve the besieged town of Gaeta. This town was besieged by the royal navy of Aragon. Early August 1435 the two fleets met near the island of Ponza and after a long and gallant conflict, which lasted for ten hours, the Genoese were completely victorious. The royal galley of Aragon was compelled to strike, and Alfonso V, King of Aragon was captured. This ″Battle of Ponza″ was a great success for the Genoese navy.
The siege of Gaeta was lifted, and the return of the Genoese fleet was met with a triumphant reception at Genoa. The King and all the noble Aragonese prisoners were then brought to Milan before the Duke, and with this one strike the war seemed already over. However the King of Aragon managed to persuade the Duke of Milan to his side and against Rene d′Anjou, King of Napels, and was set at liberty with all other prisoners. The Genoese were so utterly exasperated by the Duke′s decision that they started to rebel against him, drove out the Milanese garrison and overthrew his rule on 27 December 1435.
CNI 42var. ; Lunardi 69 ; MIR 70 ; Biaggi 897 R
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Pius IX (May 13, 1792 – February 7, 1878), born Giovanni Maria Mastai-Ferretti, was Pope from June 16, 1846 until his death. His was the longest reign in Church history, lasting 32 years. During his pontificate, he convened the First Vatican Council in 1869, which decreed Papal infallibility. The Pope defined the dogma of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary, meaning that Mary was conceived without original sin and that she lived a life completely free of sin.
The election of the liberal Pius IX created much enthusiasm in Europe and elsewhere. Celebrations and ovations were offered in several countries. Although he was not really known and had done nothing on an administrative level before his election, and although there were no utterances from him, he was soon the most notorious and popular person in the world. English Protestants celebrated him as a friend of light and a reformer of Europe towards freedom and progress. It was noted that he was elected without political influences from outside, in the best years of his life, pious, progressive, intellectual, decent, friendly, open to everybody.
Pius IX celebrated his silver jubilee in 1871, going on to have the longest reign in the history of the post-apostolic papacy, 31 years, 7 months and 23 days. As he lost temporal sovereignty, the Roman Catholic Church rallied around him, the papacy became more centralized, to which his impecccable personal life-style of simplicity and poverty is considered to have contributed. From this point on, the papacy became and continues to become more and more a spiritual, and less a temporal, authority. Pius IX′s pontificate marks the beginning of the modern papacy.
After starting out as a liberal, Pius IX turned conservative after being thrown out of Rome. Thereafter, he was considered politically conservative, but a restless and radical reformer and innovator of Church life and structures. Church life, religious vocations, new foundations and religious enthousiasm all florished at the end of his pontificate. Politically, his pontificate ended with the isolation of the papacy from most major powers of the world; Pius IX had poor relations with Russia, Germany, and the United States, poor relations with France and open hostility with Italy. Yet he was most popular with the faithful in all these countries, in many of which Pope Pius associations were formed in his support. He made lasting Church history with his 1854 infallible decision of the Immaculate Conception, which was the basis for the later dogma on the Assumption. His other lasting contribution is the invocation of the ecumenical council Vatican One, which promulgated the definition of Papal infallibility. |
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ITALY - SARDINIA, KINGDOM - VITTORIO AMEDEO III, 1773-1796 - 20 Soldi or lira 1794, Torino (Turin)
weight 5,53gr. ; billon Ø 26mm.
obv. Armored and draped bust to right, 1794 below, surrounded
by the legend; VICT • AMED • D • G • REX • SARD •
rev. Crowned ornate shield of 4-fold arms, with central shield of
Savoy eagle, in baroque frame, value ′SOL • 20′ below,
surrounded by the legend; DUX • SABAUD • - PRINC • PED ✽
KM.94 ; Cr.58 ; MIR.990 ; Montenegro 371
usual weak strike
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