Gazzetta: Venetian Coin Denomination; 2 soldi

Illustrated Specimen Details: Gazzetta (Kingdom of the Morea)

Example Specimen: Gazzetta (2 soldi), 1688-1690 AD

Authority: Issued by the Republic of Venice for the Kingdom of the Morea (the Peloponnese peninsula in Southern Greece). Venice conquered this territory from the Ottoman Empire during the Morean War. It remained a Venetian colony from 1688 to 1715.

Design & Inscriptions: The obverse features the iconic winged Lion of Saint Mark (the SAN MARC VEN) holding a book, with the Roman numeral II below, indicating its value of 2 soldi. The reverse bears the inscription "ARMATA E T MOREA". While "Morea" is geographical, the term "Armata" likely refers to the Venetian fleet or army that occupied the region.

1. REPUBLIC OF VENICE & COLONIES (16th-19th centuries): 1 gazzetta = 2 soldi. Issued for Morea, Candia (Crete), Dalmatia, Albania, and the Ionian Islands.

GAZZETTA as a coin name: The gazzetta is a historical Venetian coin that began as a small silver piece in the 16th century and later evolved into a widely circulated copper denomination. Its most famous legacy is not economic, but linguistic — it gave its name to the modern word "newspaper".

History, Evolution, and the "Newspaper" Connection

The gazzetta first appeared in Venice around 1539 as a silver coin worth two soldi. Over the following centuries, it became a staple of the Venetian monetary system, particularly in the Stato da Màr — the Republic's overseas maritime colonies.

From Silver to Colonial Copper

While the early gazzette were silver, the most recognizable versions for collectors today are the large copper issues of the 17th and 18th centuries. These were struck for various Venetian territories, including the Kingdom of the Morea, Dalmatia, and the Ionian Islands. These coins shared a standardized design: the winged Lion of Saint Mark on the obverse and the name of the province on the reverse.

The name remained largely unofficial or "slang" for a 2-soldi piece for centuries. It was only in the early 19th century, during the brief existence of the Septinsular Republic (Ionian Islands), that the name was officially struck onto the metal as "gazeta" or "gazzeta".

The Birth of Journalism

The most intriguing aspect of the gazzetta is its link to the history of information. In the 1560s, the Venetian government began publishing small, handwritten or printed sheets of news and public notices. These early news digests were sold for the price of one gazzetta coin.

Eventually, the name of the coin used to purchase the news became the name of the publication itself. This is why today, in many languages, the word for newspaper is a direct derivative of this Venetian coin: gazeta (Polish/Albanian), газета (Ukrainian/Bulgarian), gazete (Turkish), and gazette (English/French).

Numismatic Significance

For numismatists, gazzette are fascinating because they map the reach of the Venetian Empire. Each reverse inscription tells a story of a specific territory: CANDIA (Crete), DALMA E T ALBAN (Dalmatia and Albania), or CORFV CEFALONIA ZANTE (the Ionian Islands).

Physically, these copper coins are known for their heavy, robust fabric. Because they were used in military outposts and busy Mediterranean ports, they are often found with significant wear or "sea salvage" patina. However, they remain a fundamental part of any collection focused on Italian states or the historical interaction between Venice and the Ottoman Empire.