Ethnographic Arms & Armour - View Single Post

roanoa · 14th August 2017, 06:29 PM

VIVA IL RE (Long live the king) was a common inscription on Italian blades at the time of the Italian unification (1860) and it refers to King Vittorio Emanuale the SECOND, not the THIRD (who is the one depicted in the coin).
The use of this coin and the Italian blade points to an Eritrea shotel, though it could be Ethiopian. Also, the blade is Italian, but it seems, because of the engraved decorative pattern, that it may have manufactured in Solingen. As a last comment, the 1780 Maria Theresa thaler (Austrian coin) was an "official" currency in Abyssinia because of the guaranteed high silver content. The thaler was minted for Abyssinia in very large quantities well into the XX century, and it has to be noted that thalers minted in Austria as late as 1950 are still dated 1780.

14th August 2017, 06:29 PM	#12
roanoa Member Join Date: Jun 2005 Posts: 241	VIVA IL RE (Long live the king) was a common inscription on Italian blades at the time of the Italian unification (1860) and it refers to King Vittorio Emanuale the SECOND, not the THIRD (who is the one depicted in the coin). The use of this coin and the Italian blade points to an Eritrea shotel, though it could be Ethiopian. Also, the blade is Italian, but it seems, because of the engraved decorative pattern, that it may have manufactured in Solingen. As a last comment, the 1780 Maria Theresa thaler (Austrian coin) was an "official" currency in Abyssinia because of the guaranteed high silver content. The thaler was minted for Abyssinia in very large quantities well into the XX century, and it has to be noted that thalers minted in Austria as late as 1950 are still dated 1780. Last edited by roanoa; 14th August 2017 at 07:52 PM.