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Italy – Republic of Venice
Doge Francesco Dandolo (1328-1339)
1329-39 Silver Grosso 19mm (2.65 grams)
Reference: N# 94904
FRA . DANDVLO S . M . VENETI ., St. Mark and the Doge standing facing, holding pendant flag between them, D / V / X in center field.
IC | XC, Christ, nimbate, enthroned facing, holding book of Gospels.
Coin Notes:
The Grosso in Venice The earliest surviving account of Enrico Dandolo’s introduction of the Venetian grosso associates it with the outfitting of the Fourth Crusade in 1202 and tradition makes the need to pay for the ships which transported the crusaders the cause of the grosso’s introduction. Even though coinage of the grosso might have begun a few years earlier, the influx of silver used to pay for the crusaders’ ships led to its first large scale mintage. The coin had 2.2 grams of 98.5% fine silver, the purest medieval metallurgy could make. It was initially called a ducatus argenti since Venice was a duchy, but is more widely known as a grosso or matapano, a Muslim term referring to the seated figure on its reverse. The designs for the grosso came from the doge’s seal and the Byzantine aspron trachy. The obverse shows the standing figures of the doge and Saint Mark the Evangelist, the patron of Venice. On the right, Saint Mark holds the gospel, which is his usual attribute, and presents a Gonfalone to the doge. The doge holds the “ducal promise” … The legend names the doge on the left, with his title, DVX in the field. The legend on the right names the saint as S. M. VENETI, i.e. Saint Mark of Venice. The reverse shows Christ facing, sitting on a throne. The legend abbreviates his Greek name as, IC XC…A beaded bordure on both sides of the coin prevented silver from being shaved from the edge of the coin…In 1332, 1 grosso was the equivalent of 4 soldini, or 48 dinarii.
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  Italy, officially the Italian Republic (Italian: Repubblica Italiana), is a unitary parliamentary republic in Europe. Italy covers an area of 301,338 km2 (116,347 sq mi) and has a largely temperate climate; due to its shape, it is often referred to in Italy as lo Stivale (the Boot). With 61 million inhabitants, it is the 4th most populous EU member state. Located in the heart of the Mediterranean Sea, Italy shares open land borders with France, Switzerland, Austria, Slovenia, San Marino and Vatican City.
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