(sold for $7.0)

1612, Doges of Venice, Marcantonio Memmo. Scarce Silver Soldino Coin. aVF!

Reference: Paol. 1. R! Denominations: Soldino Mint Period: 1612-1615 Condition: Rough surfaces, weakly struck upper right part, otherwise about VF! Diameter: 14mm Weight: 0.54gm Material: Silver

Obverse: Winged  lion of St Mark left, guarding book of gospels. Legend: ANCT MARC VEN     Reverse: Floriated cross within inner circle. Legend: M ANTON MEMO DVX

Marcantonio Memmo (Venice, November 11, 1536  – Venice, October 31, 1615) was the 91st Doge of Venice, reigning from July 24, 1612 until his death.

The son of Giovanni Memmo and Bianca Sanudo, he was born into a family of average wealth. He went into business as a merchant and made a fortune through his careful management.

As a prominent Venetian, he traversed the Venetian cursus honorum, becoming in turn, provveditore, podestà, and Procurator of St Mark's. He was set to become doge in 1606, but was not helped by the fact that the Memmo were one of the "vecchie" ("old"), Venetian noble families and every doge from 1382 on had been a member of one of the "nuove" ("new") Venetian noble families. He was thus unable to win support for his election in 1606, and lost out to Leonardo Donato.

Memmo used the years of Donato's reign to maneuver behind the scenes, swinging into high gear following Donato's death on 16 July 1612. When the election was held on July 24, 1612, Memmo was elected on the first ballot, with 38 of the 41 votes, a shock to the nuove faction that had dominated the position of Doge for centuries. Great festivals were organized to celebrate Memmo's victory, and, like previous Doges, he would use the celebrations that attended great holidays as a way to curry favor with the population of Venice.

Little of note happened in Memmo's reign as Doge, except for an incursion of Uskoci pirates in 1613. He died on October 31, 1615.

The Doge of Venice (Doxe de Venexia [ˈdɔːze de veˈnɛsja]; Italian: Doge di Venezia; all derived from Latin dūx, "military leader"), sometimes translated as Duke (compare the Italian Duca), was the chief magistrate and leader of the Most Serene Republic of Venice for 1,100 years (697–1797). Doges of Venice were elected for life by the city-state's aristocracy. Commonly the man selected as Doge was the shrewdest elder in the city. The doge was neither a duke in the modern sense, nor the equivalent of a hereditary duke. The title "doge" was the title of the senior-most elected official of Venice and Genoa; both cities were republics and elected doges. A doge was referred to variously by the titles "My Lord the Doge" (Monsignor el Doxe), "Most Serene Prince" (Serenissimo Principe), and "His Serenity" (Sua Serenità).