Sale: Triton XII, Lot: 893. Estimate $200.  Closing Date: Monday, 5 January 2009.  Sold For $175. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

CRUSADERS, Venetians in the Levant. AV Ducat (3.49 g, 6h). Imitating Venice. Uncertain mint. Struck in the name of Antonio Venier, 1382-1400. S/M/V/Є/N/Є/T/I D/V/+ [ΛNTO] VЄNЄRIO, St. Mark standing right, holding Gospels and presenting flag (type 1) to Doge kneeling left; pellet to left of flag / • SITT +PЄ • DΛTQ [TV •] • RЄGIS ISTЄ DVCΛT, 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 30; Ives -; cf. Schlumberger pl. XIV, 11; Spink 164, 664 (same dies, but later state) . VF, flan crack, struck with heavily rusted dies at a very late die state.

From the B.R. Bell Collection.

This oddity was attributed to Chios by Spink. That attribution seems reasonable based upon the heavy die rust, often encountered on coinage of that Island. If from Chios, we can assume that anonymous imitations ceased between 1415 and 1421, with the new coinage naming Tommaso di Campofregoso. If the issue is from elsewhere, then we can assume it predates 1476.