Brunetti 935/6.

SPL.

Among the most coveted zecchini of the Most Serene Republic of Venice, the one issued by Nicolò Contarini stands out, unanimously classified by the major numismatic repertoires as an extremely rare specimen (ref. Montenegro, no. 1463/6). According to Brunetti's work, during the 19th century Luigi Cigoi commissioned a counterfeit with the intention of deceiving wealthy collectors. As is often the case with production attributed to him, the fake features subtle but significant stylistic discrepancies from the original. In this specific case, the obverse and reverse dies appear to be derived from specimens from the Stave of Ludovico Manin, which feature a significantly different engraving style from that of Contarini's issue.