Hi
quadrans,
You asked for further
help, so I finally did some research. I've been very busy for the past few days. I can't take a photo of my
Sicily coin and post it because I don't have a digital camera or a cell phone with a camera.
I have all of Varesi's
MIR reference books. I looked through the entire Florence volume - twice. I found nothing that even remotely resembles your coin. And Varesi's books are very comprehensive and thorough. So, I think we can say with about 98-99% certainty that your coin is definitely not a Florence coin.
Then I looked in Varesi's
MIR Sicily volume. I found only one coin that even remotely looks like your coin. It is the coin that I referred to in my post above. It is a coin minted by Manfredi (1258-1266) in
Sicily (Messina?).
Here is the info:
Obverse: MAYNFR, Tau stilizzata (with a few dots/pellets)
Reverse: SICILIE,
Cross References: Varesi
MIR 140, Sp. 211
By the way, the "Tau stilizzata" thing looks like an ornate/stylized letter "Y" or maybe even a
plant.
Obviously, there are major differences in the inscriptions and minor differences in the devices. Apparently, your coin is a variation or imitation of the Manfredi coin, which is what I suspected all along. Unless someone else can come up with some other info?
I
hope this info was helpful.
Meepzorp
