(sold for $7.0)

1565, Doges of Venice, Anonymous Coinage. Tiny Silver Soldino Coin. 0.3gm!

Denomination: Soldino Reference: Paolucci 718.   Condition: Weakly struck, otherwise about VF/VF+ Doge: Anonymous, struck without the Doge´s name and date. Mint Period: ca. 1565 (after the decrete of 12th September 1565)  Diameter: 12mm  Material: Silver Weight: 0.3gm

Obverse: Facing, nimbate and togate standing figure of Jesus Christ with right hand in benediction, left hand holding cross-topped orb. Legend: TV SOLVS - DO MIN [VS] Exergue: .*   .     Reverse: Winged lion of St. Mark facing, holding book of gospels within inner circle. Legend: + S . MARCVS . VENETIS

The Doge of Venice (Doxe de Venexia [ˈdɔːze de veˈnɛsja]; Italian: Doge di Venezia; all derived from Latin dūx, "military leader"), sometimes translated as Duke (compare the Italian Duca), was the chief magistrate and leader of the Most Serene Republic of Venice for 1,100 years (697–1797). Doges of Venice were elected for life by the city-state's aristocracy. Commonly the man selected as Doge was the shrewdest elder in the city. The doge was neither a duke in the modern sense, nor the equivalent of a hereditary duke. The title "doge" was the title of the senior-most elected official of Venice and Genoa; both cities were republics and elected doges. A doge was referred to variously by the titles "My Lord the Doge" (Monsignor el Doxe), "Most Serene Prince" (Serenissimo Principe), and "His Serenity" (Sua Serenità).