MALTA. Order of Knights of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem (Knights of Malta). Alof de Wignacourt. Grandmaster, 1601-1622. Tallero (Silver, 38 mm, 26.86 g, 6 h), Alof de Wignacourt coat of arms within incuse struck on the reverse of a Dordrecht Leeuwendalder dated 1576. Cf. V.F. Denaro: Dutch coins and Maltese countermarks, in: NC 1963, fig. D. Areas of weakness and with the typical small test cut on the reverse, otherwise, good fine.

Due to the rampant clipping of local coinage, the Grandmasters Alof de Wignacourt and Antoine de Paule had Dutch Leeuwendalders such as this one tested for their purity with test cuts and countermarked with their coat of arms to bring them back into circulation as solid, full weight Talleros on the island of Malta.