Denier type génois au châtel et à la croix surfrappé ND

Reverse

Genoese-Corsican cross, with two besants in opposite quadrants, within a circle of grenetis.

Comment

The Republic of Genoa, which occupied Bonifacio in 1195 and established a Ligurian community there to make it a strategic and commercial center, allowed the town to mint its own coinage by overprinting Genoese quartari (quarter denari) or using blank sides.

The overprint is affixed to either the obverse or reverse of the original quartaro, usually with 2 bezants on the reverse.

This is an automatic translation. The original text is:

La République de Gênes, occupant Bonifacio en 1195 en y implantant une communauté ligure pour en faire une centre stratégique est commercial, permis à la ville de frapper sa propre monnaie en surfrappant les quartari génois (quart de denier) ou en utilisant des flancs vierges.

 

La surfrappe est indifféremment apposée sur l’avers ou le revers du quartaro d’origine, il y a généralement 2 besants au revers.

Interesting fact

One interesting fact about this coin is that it was surfrappé, meaning it was struck over an existing coin, which was a common practice in medieval times. This process involved placing a new die on top of an already minted coin and striking it again to create a new coin with a different design or inscription. In this case, the original coin was likely a Denier type génois, which was a standard circulation coin used in the City of Bonifacio and other French States. The surfrappé process allowed the city to create new coins without the need for a full minting process, making it a more efficient and cost-effective way to produce currency.

• medieval
• europe