Armata et Morea    Venezia

Gazzetta 2 Soldi AE29

SHH 6470

Parameter Obverse Reverse Notes Reference Provenance

7.54 g   28.0-29.0 mm   1:00 o'clock   VF Nimbate winged lion of St. Marco facing; *S·MARCO·VEN* clockwise around; border of sots. Inscription in three lines ARMATA // E T // MOREA; rosette above and below; border of dots. - A copper coin of Venice which was originally struck for the Colonies and later adopted by the city. Pieces of one and two Gazzette were issued for Candia about 1632, and Mailliet mentions a piece of ten Gazzette struck during the war against the Turks (1646-1650). For Zante it was struck with the inscription CORFV. CEFAL. ZANTE; and for Zara the pieces of two Gazzette have ISOLE ET ARMATA, or ARMATA ET MOREA. The Gazzetta was issued for the Ionian Islands as recently as 1801, when those territories were under Russian protection. - It is claimed that the first newspaper ever published, which was issued at Venice, obtained its name from the coin, which was the price of a copy, and from which the English word "gazzette" is derived. - Source: Frey's Dictionary (American Journal of Numismatics, Vol. 50, 1916) https://nnp.wustl.edu/library/dictionarydetail/511168 Gamberini 2059; Paolucci 816; Papadopoli I 938/939; Tzamalis B82a Ex Hirsch 304/4346, 26.9.2014