MALTA - EMMANUEL DE ROHAN POLDUC - Lot 443

MALTA - EMMANUEL DE ROHAN POLDUC 70th Grand Master of the Hospitallers of the Order of Saint John of Jerusalem November 12, 1775 - July 14, 1797 30 Tari 1789 La Vallette silver coin (29.57 g) Very slight adjustment marks. A very fine piece. Emmanuel de Rohan was born in Spain in La Mancha (his father having been exiled to Brittany because of the Pontcallec conspiracy) on April 18, 1725. As a young man, he served at the Spanish Court and then in Parma. He was also ambassador extraordinary to Emperor Francis II of the Holy Roman Empire. Knight of Malta, he served as general of the galleys, bailiff of Justice and general of the land and naval forces. He reorganized the fleet and created a chair of navigation and mathematics at the University. A brilliant legislator, he drafted the Code that still bears his name. He died in Valletta on July 14, 1797. The last rites were administered by his chaplain, Benoît-Marie Boyer.