(sold for $17.0)

1585, Doges of Venice, Nicolo da Ponte. Beautiful Copper Sesino Coin. VF+

Condition: VF+ Denomination: Sesino Reference: Paolucci 17. Mint Period: 1578-1585 Doge: Nicolò da Ponte (87th Doge, 1578-1585) Material: Copper Diameter: 18mm Weight: 1.23gm

Obverse: Winged lion of St. Mark facing. Legend: * SANCTVS . MARCVS . VENE . Reverse: Maltese cross with dots in fields. Legend: * NICOLAVS . DE PONTE...

The Doge of Venice (Italian: Doge di Venezia; derived from Latin dūx, "military leader"), sometimes translated as Duke (cf. Italian Duca), was the chief magistrate and leader of the Most Serene Republic of Venice for over a thousand years. 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 not a duke in the modern sense, nor was a doge the equivalent of a hereditary duke. The "doge" was 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).