Speakers
Description
A study of the gros tournois of the Asti mint (13th-14th century) launched in 2015 has explored so far fifteen international museums and numerous private collections. Hundreds of public auction catalogues were also consulted. Ultimately seventy-three gros tournois were identified, confirming the rarity of this coin. The identity and sequence of dies have been studied using Arslan's methods, the original number of dies has been estimated with Carter and Esty's methods. When possible, XRF analyses were performed by the University of Turin and TQ, Technologies for Quality of Genoa. Seven main epigraphic and stylistic varieties were identified, two of which are still unpublished. For each coin we are trying to reconstruct its pedigree, with provenance and passages in public auctions. Three modern counterfeits obtained using the lost wax method have also been identified. We hope that new entry coins and dies enable us to obtain a complete chrono-typological sequence.
