Sale: Triton XII, Lot: 886. Estimate $500.  Closing Date: Monday, 5 January 2009.  Sold For $1100. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

CRUSADERS, Venetians in the Levant. AV Ducat (3.55 g, 9h). Imitating Venice. Uncertain mint. ‘Z Series’(?), struck in the name of Andrea Dandolo, 1344-1382. •/S/N/V/Є/N/Є/T/I D/V/+ ΛZDR DΛZDVIO (S horizontal), St. Mark standing right, holding Gospels and presenting flag (type 4) to Doge kneeling left; X concealed in the Doge’s robe, pellet to left of flag / • SIT • T • +PЄ DΛ • TOT • V ROS ISITЄ DVCΛT • (S's retrograde), Christ standing facing, raising hand in benediction and holding Gospels, surrounded by elliptical halo containing four stars to left, five to right. Cf. CNI VII 37; cf. Ives pl. XIII; cf. Schlumberger p. 21 (additions) and pl. XXI, 19-22; cf. Gamberini 344 (Roberto d’Angio pr. Acaia). Superb EF, minor areas of earthen encrustation.

From the B.R. Bell Collection.

This coin appears to be from a series related to and perhaps just prior to the coinage now dubbed the ‘Z Series’ (cf. Schlumberger pl. XXI, 19ff.). Stylistically it appears to fall before circa 1382, although there is no strong hoard information to correlate the series with a particular mint, or corroborate a suspected date of issue. The flag is interesting, having traits of both the Z-series flags (resembling that of ‘Troy’/Philadelphia), and the typical flag (type 1) seen on the majority of Venetian & imitation ducats.