Owner Comments:
Pietro Gradenigo (1251–1311) was the 49th Doge of Venice, reigning from 1289 to his death.
The word Ducat is from Medieval Latin “ducalis” meaning a “Duke’s coin”. The Venetian Gold Ducat had a purity of 99.47% gold with a weight of (around) 3.545 grams. This represented the highest purity that medieval metallurgy could attain. These were struck by the Venetian Republic first under Doge Giovanni Dandolo starting October 31, 1284. These were introduced to have the same specifications as the florin of Florence created in 1252. The Venetian ducats wound up being called zecchino (sequin) because the zecca was the monetary workshop (mint).
Ideally, I would have the first of the series, struck by Dandolo. One that looks almost exactly like this Gradenigo ducat went to auction in December, 2019 at Jean Elsen in Belgium. It sold, all-in, for a bit over $21,000 (16,000 Euro Hammer with a 20% buyer premium). So that's not in my collection. There are very few known, especially in good condition. When I think of the U.S. coins selling for $20,000 or more, I wonder if these people even know what treasures are out there.
When Gradenigo was elected Doge, he was serving as the podestà of Capodistria in Istria. Venice suffered a serious blow with the fall of Acre, the last Crusader stronghold in the Holy Land, to the Mamluks of Egypt in 1291. A war between Venice and Genoa began in 1294, and Venice sustained some serious losses: it lost a naval battle, its possessions in Crete were pillaged and the Byzantine emperor, Andronikos II, arrested many Venetians in Constantinople. In response, the Venetian fleet sacked Galata and threatened the imperial palace of Blachernae, but in 1298 they lost again - this time at Curzola. Eventually, in 1299 the two republics signed a peace treaty.
Doge Gradenigo was responsible for the so-called Serrata del Maggior Consiglio, the Locking of the Great Council of Venice. This new law, passed in February 1297, restricted membership of the future Councils only to the descendants of those nobles who were its members between 1293 and 1297. This move created an oligarchic system, disenfranchising a great majority of the citizens and provoking some unrest.
In 1308, during Gradenigo's reign as doge, Venice became involved in war with the Papacy over the control of Ferrara and on 27 March 1309 the Republic was excommunicated by Pope Clement V, barring all Christians from trading with Venice. The Doge's policy, seen by many as disastrous, led to a plot to depose him and the Great Council, led by Bajamonte Tiepolo and other members of the aristocratic families. On 15 June 1310, the coup failed and its leaders were severely punished. Tiepolo's plot led to the creation of the Council of Ten, initially as a temporary institution, which later evolved into the permanent body which in reality governed the Republic.
On 13 August 1311, Gradenigo died, and, since Venice was under interdict and the religious ceremonies could not be held, he was buried in an unmarked grave on Murano.
He was married first to Tomasina Morosini (with whom he had a daughter, Anna, wife of Jacopo I da Carrara) and then to Agnese Zantani.
NGC has graded this coin and three others in MS65, five in MS63, and one in AU50. One of the NGC MS65's has been sold a couple times on Heritage, and another of the NGC MS65's is in the Tyrant Collection.
PCGS has graded one of these in MS65, and another in MS63.