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Austrian gold ducat depicting Kaiser Franz-Josef, c. 1910. The ducat (/ ˈ d ʌ k ə t /) coin was used as a trade coin in Europe from the later Middle Ages to the 19th century. Its most familiar version, the gold ducat or sequin containing around 3.5 grams (0.11 troy ounces) of 98.6% fine gold, originated in Venice in 1284 and gained wide international acceptance over the centuries.
Although there is no information about coinage in what was the Duchy of Venice (a semi-independent entity within the Byzantine Empire from which the Republic of Venice originated), ancient historians such as Andrea Dandolo and Marin Sanudo mention that the privilege of coinage was given to Venice by the kings of Italy Rudolph II (in 921) and Berengar II (in 950); however, it is more likely ...
The sequin or zechin (/ ˈ s iː k w ɪ n /; Venetian and Italian: zecchino [dzekˈkiːno]) is a gold coin minted by the Republic of Venice from the 13th century onwards. The design of the Venetian gold ducat , or zecchino , remained unchanged for over 500 years, from its introduction in 1284 to the takeover of Venice by Napoleon in 1797.
To raise the 5,000 ducats appropriated for construction, the Council of Ten authorized the freeing of slaves on Cyprus, then a Venetian possession, at 50 ducats a head. [17] [14] [note 8] Additional funds were similarly raised in 1539 and 1544. Ultimately, the construction of the mint exceeded initial cost estimates roughly sixfold. [note 9]
The Venetian state then resold the salt at a profit - a form of Salt tax - to markets throughout Italy, Dalmatia, Slovenia, and the Stato da mar. Venice had a salt monopoly for many of these markets. The Salt Office collected 165,000 ducats net of costs in 1464, or around 15% of the entire income of the Venetian state. [17]
The Treaty of Constantinople was signed on 25 January 1479, which officially ended the sixteen-year-long war between the Republic of Venice and the Ottoman Empire.The Venetians were forced to hand over Scutari (which had been besieged by the Ottomans for many months) in Albania and the island of Lemnos and the Mani Peninsula in Greece; and acknowledge the loss of Negroponte and Croia.
Two gold coins, modeled after Venetian ducats, have survived depicting Andriolo and Domenico Cattaneo and attesting to the wealth of these lands under their governance. The first of these coins is the earliest known counterfeit.
In December 1515 he was appointed as fortress commander (capitano) at Famagusta on Cyprus, after a gift of 2,000 ducats to the Republic. Cappello found the fortifications of Famagusta utterly insufficient to face an Ottoman attack, and denounced the behaviour of the Venetian officials on the island as "scandalous". Being firmly convinced of the ...