Venice. Ludovico Manin gold 1/2 Ducato of 5 Zecchini (1789-1797)-AB UNC Details (Plugged) NGC, KM-Unl., Fr-Unl., CNI-Unl., Paolucci-Unl., Bellesia-Unl. 16.43gm. Andrea Bon (?) as mintmaster. St. Mark seated at left presenting staff with cross and pennant at top to Doge kneeling at right; mintmaster's initials in exergue / Lion of St. Mark striding to left, head facing forward, left paw resting on open book, above which is a castle on a hill. An incredibly rare issue, unlisted in the present denomination in all major references and absent from all auction records of the last two decades in our searches. We are additionally unable to find any record of or reference to an issue of Ludovico Manin with the present mintmaster's initials of "AB," though issues bearing these initials are known of the years 1785-1786 and are credited to Andrea Bon. An expert plugging at the obverse 2 o'clock area of the legend does little to detract from the overall appeal, the piece retaining full mint luster and a bold strike.

HID09801242017

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