Gros grand of Catherine Cornaro

Towards the end of the thirteenth century, the gros grand was introduced as a new denomination of currency to replace the Byzantine influenced white bezant. The image of the king on these coins does not follow the Byzantine style that had previously been used, and instead the king, or in this case the queen, is now shown enthroned in a western style.

Object type

Coins

Date

Production: 1474 - 1489

Subject(s)

Bearers of the Cross

Associated person

Subject: Catherine Cornaro (1454 - 1510)

Inscriptions

obverse: + KATERINA : [VE]NETA : REGIN :

reverse: +IERVSALEM . CIPRI . ET . ARMIAE

Dimensions

Diameter: 24mm
Weight: 2.87g

Materials and technique

Silver, struck

Production place

Cyprus

Related place(s)

Cyprus

Themes

The Queen and queens of the Crusades

References

Metcalf, David Michael. Coinage of the Crusades and the Latin East in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford. London: Royal Numismatic Society, 1995.
Pages 222 - 224

Credit line

The Mildred King Memorial Collection.
Gift of Colonel E.J. King, 1935

Catalogue number

C262