Milan 1778 Maria Theresia Scudo (6 Lire)

Zohar

Inspired by EVP's recent pickup at the CICF I saw this type for sale. I unfortunately had to sell lots of "Taler" to fund it but such is the hobby and budgeting.

I actually missed this one on the prior HA auction and it fortunately did not sell and went back to consignor. Awesome eye appeal and very tough to find nice as apparently the Italians did not really like the Empress Maria Theresia which led them to deface many of these coins making higher grade uncommon. I carefully searched in past auction records unable to find many at this level. One of the better pieces in the collection for me.

Seller's image (NEN)

marcmoish

Nice looking piece Z!

You coming up for air anytime soon?

worldcoinguy

Indeed - that is a beautiful piece.

JCMhouston

Very nice Z.

Dennis88

Very nice coin. What am I seeing in the coat of arms? Is that a child being eaten by a snake or is it time for me to call it a night?

harasha

Versions

AuroraRarities

Excellent coin and fascinating history and heraldry, as usual. The biscione is something I'd seen before, but hadn't thought about. It has to appear on a coin to catch my interest, I suppose. Harasha's handy link helped too. (Thanks)

The story of the Italians' dislike of the empress is similarly intriguing. I'll have to delve into that.

Zohar

harasha - thanks for the info - very interesting symbolism

The biscione as a symbol of Milan, seen here at the Central Station

The Biscione (‘large grass snake’), also known as the Vipera (‘viper’ or in Milanese as the Bissa), is a heraldic charge showing a blue serpent in the act of swallowing a human: usually a child and sometimes described as a Moor. It has been the emblem of the Italian Visconti family for around a thousand years. Its origins are unknown. (Is it really?) However it has been claimed that it was taken from the coat of arms of a Saracen killed by Ottone Visconti during the crusades.

The biscione appears in the coats of arms of the House of Sforza, Milan, the historical Duchy of Milan and Insubria. It is also used as a symbol or logo by the football club Inter Milan, and in a version where a flower replaces the child, by Fininvest.

More: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biscione