Pannuti-Riccio 1. MIR 18. Very rare.

Nice specimen.

SPL/FDC.

At the end of the 13th century, in 1278 to be precise, Charles of Anjou decided to adopt a visually striking sacred representation for the Golden Salute: the Annunciation. This choice gave rise to one of the most fascinating images on all of medieval Italian coinage.

The new coinage was produced by craftsmen from the Brindisi mint, already known for having created, some time earlier, the famous Augustales commissioned by Frederick II of Swabia. Sources report that the sovereign closely monitored the project, even personally inspecting the first models of the coin.

Contemporary testimonies tell that Charles was immediately struck by the proposal conceived by the court painter Giovanni Fortino, despite the frequent artistic and stylistic disagreements between the two.

The reverse depicts the Archangel Gabriel announcing to Mary the future birth of Jesus, the Savior. The inclusion of this scene reflects the profound Marian devotion typical of the Middle Ages, and particularly the Gothic era. The king also insisted that the composition be designed so that it would always maintain the same position when the coin was rotated: a measure that marked the introduction of the fixed axis in Western European coinage.