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 Replies: 10 / Views: 2,400 |
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New Member
New Zealand
3 Posts |
I am not even sure I am in the correct forum but I would appreciate your help. I was recently married in Siena, Italy and we were awarded two beautiful coins by the Mayor who married us. He tried to explain to us in broken English that these were very precious coins to Siena and that we were privalidged to be given them. These coins were produced during the height of Sienese power (1496-1514 AD)and are in mint condition. He said that there were many fakes out there but these were the real deal and could only be obtained by gift through the Comune Di Siena (City Council). I have a little card that came with them that says "Comune Di Siena, Palazzo Repubblico" (which was where we married) and then on the back it says "Il Sanese d'argento a. 1496-1514". Any idea about the history of these coins or their value? I would very much like to insure them as they mean a great deal to my wife and I. Thank you so much for your help with this. I hope you find it interesting. Image Insert:  |
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Banned
New Zealand
306 Posts |
Scott,Martin Purdy of Translate Limited can help you there.You can do a Google search for his website.He has a better knowledge of the Italian language than I do.
Aidan.
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Forum Kid
Kuwait
1523 Posts |
Hmmmm... Its very hard to get coins like that in that good condition, but this may be one of them special cases.
How about, you ship them to me and I'll see what I can do :D
No, I'm joking!
Congrats n you marriage and welcome to the forum.
Could you post what is inscribed on the coin.
TKC!
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
14454 Posts |
I know nothing about your coins but I do want to welcome you to the forum. I hope someone will be able to tell you exactly what you have there and also be able to tell you that its worth a million dollars but unfortunately I am not the one with the knowledge in this area to tell you anything
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Pillar of the Community
United States
7123 Posts |
Hi Scottjlyons
I can honestly say ,I have never seen any coins like this,, But I think they are more of a token or medal than a coin,,
Generally coins will have a denomination with certian other design details that are required on coinage, medals use symbolism to express their intent and meaning.
They are beautiful and I'm interested to find out what they are !!
Congrats on your marriage ,, and welcome to the forum .
Rick
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4589 Posts |
Look for SAp to atrribute these or heather the hoarder they usually can get you indepth info
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New Member
 New Zealand
3 Posts |
Thank you all for welcoming me to the community.
I sent an email to Martin Purdy as you suggested Aidan and I will let you all know the response.
The inscription on the side of the coin with the large S is as follows:
SENAVETVSCIVITASVIRGINIS (the V's may be U's and the A's may be N's)
The side with the large cross reads as follows:
ALPA.I.YO.PRINCIPIVM.i.FINIS
As I dont read ancient text I am guessing at some of these letters.
I dont believe that these are medals as we were told that they were currency during the height of Sienese power.
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Moderator
 Australia
16829 Posts |
Siena was indeed one of the prominent mint cities in mediaeval Italy; their symbol on the coinage was a large "S". Though a denomination isn't marked, I assume "sanese d'argento" is the name of the denomination; presumably the local name for the mid-sized silver coin (akin to the Venetian "grosso" or English "groat"). Unfortunately, these coins fall "between the cracks" as far as my catalogues and reference books are concerned; I don't have anything that covers the period 1450-1600. Grierson's "Coinage of Medieval Europe" only mentions Siena in passing in the late 1400's: "The coinages of the cities of Tuscany, dominated by those of Florence and Siena, remain traditional in type...". That's it.  I have a coin from Siena, with a very similar design but much older and cruder. It's a silver denaro, circa 1250-1300:   You can see what Grierson means by "traditional" - the same basic design is still there on your coins, after 200 years, though the artwork is much more refined on the later coins. However, by the time your coins were made, the "glory days" of Siena were almost over - cities like Venice, Genoa, Milan and Florence had overtaken them. By the time the Krause catalogues kick in at 1601, Siena had stopped making coins entirely. All in all, I see no reason to doubt their authenticity (though they may have been polished up a bit for you. I don't have a catalogue value for your specific coin, but the one pictured above cost me AU$50 or so; given the higher state of preservation and artwork in your coins, I'd say they'd be worth considerably more than that. A very generous gift for a very fortunate couple. Congratulations!   Don't say "infinitely" when you mean "very"; otherwise, you'll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite. - C. S. Lewis
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Pillar of the Community
Australia
1091 Posts |
These may be a replica of the origional design, or a commemerative coin or medal. Coins rarely would have a "1496 - 1514" date on them.(although modern commemerative coins often do.)
I could be wrong, but I thought coins weren't dated back then.
Any idea what was significant about that particular 18 year period?
The city was ruled by the Petrucci family (1487-1523)
The dates don't match the two Saints from that city either.
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Moderator
Australia
16829 Posts |
No, the coins don't have any dates on them - that's why they're only approximately dated, somewhere in the 1496-1514 period.
As far as I can tell, the legends and the mintmaster's marks (one I can see has a trident below the cross) would be the only clues to help narrow down the date for coins of this period.
Don't say "infinitely" when you mean "very"; otherwise, you'll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite. - C. S. Lewis
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Pillar of the Community
Australia
1091 Posts |
Whoops, My mistake..re reading the first post it was the "Card", not the coin, that had the dates on the back.  Edited by toast
06/24/2006 04:34 am
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Replies: 10 / Views: 2,400 |
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Posted 06/23/2006 07:59 am
