Sequin (coin)

File:Italian States-Venice (1779-89) 50 Zecchini.jpg

50 from the reign of Paolo Renier (1779–89), penultimate Doge of Venice. This denomination (on average) weighs Template:Convert and measures Template:Convert.

The sequin (Template:IPAc-en Template:Respell) or zechin (; Template:Langx ) was a gold coin minted by the Republic of Venice from 1284.

The design of the Venetian gold ducat, or , remained unchanged for over 500 years, from its introduction in 1284 to the takeover of Venice by Napoleon in 1797.

The reverse bears a motto in Latin hexameter: ("Christ, let this duchy that you rule be given to you").

History

The coin was initially called the "ducat" (), after the ruling Doge of Venice who was prominently depicted on it. From 1543, it was called the , after the Zecca (mint) of Venice. The name of the mint ultimately derives from Template:Langx (), meaning a coin mould or die.

In some regions, in later centuries, this type of coin was stitched to women's clothing such as headdresses – this eventually led to the origin of the more modern word "sequins" to denote small shiny, circular decorations.

This Venetian coin was imitated throughout the Mediterranean—by the Byzantine basilikon (c. 1304), the Ottoman Empire (1478), and the Knights Hospitaller of Malta (1535). The Ottoman and the Maltese coins were also gold.

See also

• History of coins in Italy
• Sequin

Further reading

• Zecchini (Sequin) by the Knights Hospitallers Template:Webarchive

External links

• Template:Cite Americana
• Template:Cite EB1911
• The Dictionary of Coin Denominations

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